The Four Elements
by Jyuoa
Summary: A small group of witches move to Mystic Falls and find themselves having to protect Elena and Bonnie from the oldest known vampire. These witches are different, though, their powers are based of one of the four elements. To protect their home, they have to work together, but will their personal issues get in the way or can they pull together long enough to help them?
1. Legend of Four

namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"  
name="PlaceName"/ namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"  
name="City"/ namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"  
name="place"/ !-[if gte mso 9]xml  
o:OfficeDocumentSettings  
o:TargetScreenSize800x600/o:TargetScreenSize  
/o:OfficeDocumentSettings  
/xml![endif]-

At the Boarding House, Bonnie met with the others. "Hey, there's something that I found…what is she doing here?" Caroline looked uncomfortable beside Elena.

"Like it or not, she's part of the group too, Bonnie." Stefan pointed out.

"Yeah, besides with Katherine back in town, she needs all the help she can get." Damon added. Elena shot him a glare that said "you're not helping"

"And she's our friend, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. "We should've told her before. Whatever you have to say to us, you can say to her, too."

"Alright, but this still doesn't change anything." Bonnie said. "I was going through the grimore and came across a legend. It states that every generation, there's a group of witches that can control the four elements. They work with other witches to protect and help others."

She had everyone's attention now. "The legend also states that they're all descended from the same family, a group of siblings that were trying to save their people, and failed. As a result, it spread into the separation of them from the rest of the witch community."

"You don't think the legend's real, do you?" Damon asked.

"If it's one thing I've learned about the supernatural, it's that anything can happen." Bonnie said.

Meanwhile, across town, a girl with wavy dark hair was running out of the forest. She came across a house nearby and entered it. "Hello?"

"Marina, you're back!" A girl with long brown hair hugged her. "It's so good to see you again."

"Easy, Terra, she just got back to us."

"How'd you all get here?" Marina asked her friends. A girl with long, dark hair came into the room. Another girl joined them. She appeared to have an Asian complexion.

"Actually, we all just found each other." The girl with the dark hair said.

"Please, Lia, I could tell you were there." Terra pointed out. "Only you would end up nearly lighting our last place on fire."

"Hey, I have it under control now." Lea told them.

"Right, and that's not counting the time you thought that I could use my powers to put it out." The Asian girl said.

"Oh, Vanessa, you are so overdramatic." Lea pointed out.

"It's strange how we always manage to end up in the same place." Marina said.

"Maybe it's because we're witches." Vanessa stated.

"It might also be because we all transferred from the same high school." Lea pointed out.

"I know. Sophomore year wasn't as fun at that school." Marina said. "The only event I remember is when…" She cut off, remembering she was the only one who witnessed the event.

"At least you three didn't transfer in the middle of the year from out-of-state." Lea pointed out. "Then again, I moved around a lot."

"Well, our parents all lived here before." Vanessa pointed out. "Then we all meet up about a couple years ago."

"Technically, we all lived here before, too, except for Lea because she traveled around." Marina added.

"All I know is that coming here wasn't just a coincidence." Terra said. "We're here for a reason."

"I get that feeling, too." Marina told her. "But first, we should try to blend in."

"I think we already fit in." Vanessa stated. "I mean, isn't this town known for supernatural legends?"

"But we all know it's real." Lea said. "Maybe we should get some rest. We start at Mystic Falls High School tomorrow." The girls agreed with her. Marina had a feeling, however. She got the sense that she'd end up seeing someone she knew about from that night.


	2. Transfer Student Secrets

At school the next day, the girls had picked up their schedules and had separated. Marina was walking down the hall when she bumped into two people. "Oh, I'm sorry." She told them.

"It's okay. You must be new around here." The girl told her. Then Marina got a good look at her and looked really surprised.

"You okay? You seem nervous." The guy next to her said.

"Yeah, that's it." Marina said. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Well, it's nice meeting you. My name's Elena, and this is my boyfriend, Stefan."

"I'm Marina. And I have to get to class."

"Hang on, let us help." Elena said. She looked at her schedule. "You're in the same class as us."

"If you want, we could show you around later."

"Thanks." Marina said. She wondered if Elena knew her boyfriend was a vampire, but she didn't want to ask. For now, she just wanted to fit in.

On the other end of the school, Bonnie was at her locker. She noticed another girl looking at her. "Hey."

"Hey." Terra said. "Sorry for staring, but you just seem so familiar."

"We get that a lot around here." Bonnie told her. "I have class soon, but maybe we could talk later. I'm Bonnie."

"Terra." They shook hands and both got a sudden shock to them.

"Whoa. What was that?" Caroline asked. She had appeared behind them.

"I don't know." Bonnie said.

"I guess we'll talk later." Terra told her. She ran off quickly.

"What was all that about?" Caroline asked.

"I have no idea." Bonnie said. "We better get to class."

The girls met up in the cafeteria. "I felt some kind of connection with that Bonnie girl." Terra told them.

"Maybe she's got powers, too." Vanessa suggested.

"You really think she's a witch, Nessa?" Lea asked.

"From her description, it sounds right." Vanessa pointed out. "Marina, you still with us?"

"Yeah. I just can't help but wonder where I've seen that guy before." Marina said. "You know, Stefan."

"The name sounds familiar." Lea said. "Did you get his last name?"

"Why?"

"Because I might know of him." Lea explained. "It's complicated."

"What, one of your exes from back then?" Vanessa joked. The glare Lea gave her shut her up.

"It was so weird." Bonnie was saying. She was with Elena. "It's like I never met this girl before, and yet I feel connected for some reason."

"Well, maybe you're not the only witch in town." Elena suggested.

"Still, it's weird."

"Tell me about it. Those new girls all transferred from the same school." Caroline said, joining them. "Though they do have an interesting sense of style." Stefan sat down next to her.

"When I ran into Marina this morning, she looked surprised to see me." Elena told them. "It was weird, almost as though she knew something."

"Maybe she thought you were Katherine?" Caroline suggested. "I mean, you two look completely identical on the surface."

"I know that. But her eyes, she looked kind of sad. As if she'd experienced a death herself." Elena said.

"Like you after your parents died." Bonnie said. "I could always tell it was an act, except for when you were around Stefan."

"Was it really that obvious?" Elena asked. Her friends looked at each other.

"Kind of." Caroline admitted.

"I know it's weird, but there's something kind of familiar about Marina." Stefan told them. "Almost as though I knew someone related to her."

"Are you saying she might be…" Caroline began.

"No, if she were, she wouldn't have a heartbeat." Stefan pointed out.

In the hallway, Caroline ran into Lea. "Hey. I noticed you all transferred from the same school."

"Well, we all met there." Lea said. "We've kinda been inseparable ever since. Except for one minor incident."

"Okay." Caroline said.

"I like you're jacket. It really brings the outfit together."

"Thanks, you've got a pretty cool style yourself." Caroline told her. "I'm Caroline."

"Lea."

"Hey, Lea. We have our next class soon." Vanessa pointed out. She noticed Caroline. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's fine. I was just talking with Caroline here." Lea told her. She turned to Caroline. "Don't mind Vanessa. Sometimes she speaks without thinking."

"I'm standing right here."

"Yeah, I've been in that situation before." Caroline told her.

"Maybe we could all go shopping after school." Lea said.

"We'll see." Vanessa said. "Come on."

The two girls walked away and Vanessa pulled Lea to the side. "What are you doing?"

"What's wrong this time?" Lea asked.

"You mean you couldn't sense your new best friend is a vampire?"

"No."

"Wow. Your powers must be off."

"Even if she was, she is way too cool to be one of the bad ones." Lea said. "Besides, from what I can tell, she's a new one."

"I suppose we should take a break from this." Vanessa told her. "I mean, who knows what might happen."

Later on, Bonnie caught up with Terra. "Hey, Terra, right?"

"Yeah."

"I wanted to know if you wanted to meet me after school. We need to talk about earlier."

"Can my friends come, too?" Terra asked. "I'd feel more comfortable if they were there and I think it concerns all of us."

"Okay." Bonnie said. "Meet me at the Boarding House. You know, the one near the bridge?"

"I know it."

"Okay. See you then."

"Okay." As soon as Bonnie left, Terra called the others.

"Guys, we're meeting up with Bonnie after school."

"You really think this is a good idea?" Marina asked a few hours later. The group was in front of the Boarding House.

"Well, if she wants the truth, we have to tell it." Terra explained.

"This place looks familiar. I don't know why." Lea said. "Wait, where's Nessa?"

Sure enough, Vanessa showed up with Caroline that instant. "Hey, guys."

"So now you're hanging around…" Lea began, but Marina put her hand over her mouth.

"Vanessa got lost trying to find the way here, so I thought I'd over her a ride." Caroline explained.

"Thanks, but you don't have to stay." Vanessa said.

"If my friends are here, I'm staying."

"Wait, friends? I thought we were just meeting Bonnie." Marina said. "Terra?"

"I didn't know about this."

"Let's just get this over with." Vanessa said. She rang the bell. The door opened.

"Hey, thanks for agreeing to come." Bonnie said.

"No problem." Marina told her. The girls walked in. Elena and Stefan were in the living room.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Terra turned to Bonnie. "When you asked us to meet, I thought it'd be just the five of us."

"I needed to bring my emotional support, too." Bonnie told her. "Caroline was an unexpected surprise."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" A voice asked from behind. Bonnie closed her eyes. She was hoping he wasn't going to be there today.

"Wait, I know that voice." Lea turned around. "Damon."

"Lea?"

"You know each other?" Everyone asked.

Lea walked over to him. "It is you. I thought something was off."

"I haven't seen you in a while." Everyone was stunned when Lea slapped him. Even he seemed surprised by it.

"You don't get to talk to me that way anymore, you jerk!"

"Oh, no." Terra said. "We better do something about this." Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Stefan, watched, stunned, as the girls tried to stop Lea from attacking Damon.

"Hey, Lea, stop it!" Marina yelled. She was trying to pry her off him.

"What did you do?" Stefan asked over the girls struggle.

"I don't know."

"Lea," Terra was at Marina's side helping her. "Lea, calm down."

"Marina, Terra, back up." Vanessa told them.

"Nessa, don't!" Marina warned.

"There's no other choice!" Vanessa put her hands in their direction and spoke a few foreign words. Suddenly, Lea was thrown off Damon by a gust of wind. Marina and Terra had let go of her. It was then Vanessa realized the others were still in the room.

"How did you do that?" Elena asked. The girls looked to each other, knowing it was too late to explain.

**A/N: The reason Lea's mad at Damon will be explained next chapter, as well as Bonnie's connection with Terra. **


	3. Secrets of the Past

"If everyone would just calm down and take a seat, we'll tell you everything." Terra said. Everyone sat in the living room of the Boarding House.

"Sorry, I'm still in shock over what happened." Caroline said.

"First, I think we should be honest here. We know what you guys are." Marina admitted.

"Be more specific." Damon told her.

"Okay, we know that you three are vampires and that Bonnie's a witch." Vanessa told them.

"How do you know that?" Bonnie asked.

"Are you witches?" Elena added.

"Sort of." Lea told her. "It's a long story. Here's the short version, we're a bit more unique."

"Each of us can use one of the four elements." Terra told them.

"Our powers are passed down through our family. We have no clue how far it goes back." Vanessa told them.

"Oh my God." Bonnie said. "The legend's true."

"Well, you're bright for a beginner." Lea said.

"Hey, I'm still a beginner, too." Marina pointed out. "You know I have trouble with my powers."

"So, which elements do you relate with?" Stefan asked. "Clearly, Vanessa's wind."

"That's right." Vanessa said.

"Mine's water." Marina told them. "But I'm still new at it, so I have trouble working with it."

"Well, practice makes perfect." Caroline said. "We could help, if you want."

"Thanks, Caroline."

"I'm earth." Terra said. "Though you could probably tell when I touched you, Bonnie."

"I did get that feeling." Bonnie admitted.

"That just leaves Lea." Elena said. "Which means…"

"Fire." Lea said. "And you're lucky I didn't burn you to ashes." The last comment was meant for Damon.

"Whoa, okay. What did he do?" Stefan asked.

"He used me." Lea said. "Like countless others, I'm sure."

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Marina asked.

"We met in Atlanta two years ago." Lea told them. "I went on a couple dates with him, thought he might be the one for me. I already knew he was a vampire. What I didn't know was that he was waiting to rescue his girlfriend."

"Wow. Big surprise there." Caroline said. Lea looked at her and could tell he used her, too.

"What is your problem?" She yelled at him.

"Please, let's not get into that again." Elena said.

"Can you guys not try to kill each other now? It's been a long day." Stefan pointed out. Everyone sat down again.

"If it makes you feel better, she screwed us over." Damon told Lea. "She never had feelings for me."

"Well, guess that's karma." Terra said.

"Was it karma when she murdered me in the hospital, forcing me to become a vampire?" Caroline asked. "Or when she nearly killed Bonnie?"

"The worst part of all? She looks just like me." Elena told them. "I met her the other day. I was so scared of her."

"Wait, she's here?" Vanessa asked. "In town?"

"Do you know her?"

"I've heard of her." Vanessa said. "Your ancestors aren't the only ones who kept journals, you know."

"I don't get how she was friends with Emily. I mean, she's the reason the whole tomb vampire thing happened." Bonnie said.

"Wait, Emily Bennett?" Terra asked.

"How do you know my ancestor's name?" Bonnie asked.

"No wonder I got that vibe earlier. You're a Bennett witch, too." Terra said.

"Wait, are we related?"

"My aunt is descended from the Bennett family." Terra explained. "She helped train me. She also had Earth based abilities, though now she just does minor things."

"Of course, how didn't we realize it before?" Stefan asked.

"What?" Elena asked.

"Emily wasn't the only witch in town. I believe that these girls are the descendants of her coven." When the girls looked at him confused, he continued. "Emily knew four others that were there. They were all very close to each other and Emily, like sisters. But I never knew what they were until after the day we turned."

"That has to be it." Vanessa said. "Molly wrote about you two and Katherine in her journal."

"I remember reading something like that, too." Lea agreed. "Though they mostly wrote about spells, they kept separate ones for their personal lives. My ancestor wrote that they wanted to coexist in peace with other supernatural beings."

"So, they're not a bunch of vampire haters then?" Damon asked. Lea glared at him.

"No way." Marina said. "Those prejudices are so stupid. It's like judging a person you don't know."

"I wondered why you looked so familiar." Stefan told her. "You're eyes are the same as Mira's."

"Really?" Marina blushed. She noticed how unique her blue eyes were. "Guess it runs in the family."

"I'm sorry about your accident." Vanessa told Caroline. "How long have you been this way?"

"About a week or two." Caroline told her. "The worst part of all? My mother's on the Council."

"Ouch." Lea said. "That must be hard."

"She doesn't know."

"You know, maybe retail therapy will help." Vanessa said. "It'll take your mind off things."

"Thanks." Caroline said. "After what's been going on, I could use some friends."

"I'll come with you." Lea said. "Anything to get out of here."

"Hang on." Damon said. "Look, I get that you're mad at me, but that was in the past."

"I am no one's rebound girl." Lea told him. "Excuse me." She left the room so fast. She knew if she didn't get out of there, she'd probably set the place on fire.

"So, there are other witches in the family?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, but they're mostly distant." Terra said. "They normally like to settle in one place, though they will reach out to other family or witches for help."

"How do they…uh…know to do the right thing?" Bonnie asked her. Terra noticed how serious she looked.

"They just know. Mostly, they mean well, Bonnie, but some of them end up having a dark side." Terra explained. "I guess the right thing to do would be protect and help the people they care about." Bonnie thought about it.

"Even if you don't like them?"

"Does this have to do with Damon or something?" Terra asked. Bonnie gasped. She hadn't told her that, so how had she known?

"I know how you feel, Bonnie. I was surprised the first time I started having those powers, too." Bonnie heard her say. The only thing is she didn't say it.

"What can you tell me about her?" Marina asked him.

"She was very kind." Stefan told her. Elena sat next to her while he explained things to her. "She always had her heart in the right place. She worked as a healer alongside Pearl and was close with her daughter."

"I remember that name." Marina said. "Mira was devastated when they caught her and helped Anna escape town."

"She'd spend hours near the river whenever she could. I guess she was trying to practice, since she had difficulty with it."

"Water is the hardest element to learn." Marina said. "I'm still struggling with it, since I'm mostly out of my element."

"It just takes practice." Elena said. "I mean, Bonnie used to struggle too. But after a little practice, she can take down a vampire with her mind. Sorry." She added when Stefan looked at her.

"It's okay." He told her. He turned back to Marina. "Mira was the kindest girl I'd ever met. If it hadn't been for Katherine…" He trailed off.

"Hey, if you hadn't turned, you never would've met Elena." Marina pointed out. "And I can tell you two have a pretty special bond. I haven't seen it in very many people."

Elena tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thanks. So, what can you tell us about you? I mean, aside from the magic thing?"

"Well, I believe there are some things that will take time to tell you." Marina said. "Aside from the magic, I'm pretty much just normal. I'm kind of into music, it helps me focus on what I'm doing. Other than that, mostly just the usual stuff, school, homework, swimming. Don't judge, ever since I was little, I've been around water." She added when they looked at her.

"Are you sure you're a witch and not a mermaid or something?" Elena asked.

"Of course I'm sure…" Marina began, then noticed Elena was smiling. "You were joking."

"Just thought I'd lighten the mood in here." Elena said. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to be friends."

"I hate to interrupt, but we should probably be getting home." Terra said.

"Good idea. I'd hate to get caught out in the dark with her vampire twin out there." Vanessa said.

"Where do you live?"

"It's not too far from here, actually." Marina said. "Just a few houses over. It's almost like we're neighbors."

"Actually, it's only a few blocks between here, the school, and your place, I think." Vanessa said, indicating to Elena.

"How do you know…"

"I think I saw your aunt the other day, she told me." Vanessa said.

"I know it's not really our business, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we're willing to help with this Katherine thing." Terra told them.

"We could probably use it." Bonnie said.

"We'll see you guys at school tomorrow." Lea said. The girls left the Boarding house and headed to their place.

"For some reason, I feel like I've seen Elena before." Marina told them once they were out of hearing distance.

"You're sure it was her and not…"

"I'm sure." Marina said. "Besides, I've seen a sketch of Katherine and she looks nothing like her."

"How are you so sure?"

"Our ancestors always refer to Katherine as cold and uncaring." Marina pointed out. "But Elena does care about others and from what I can tell, is way nicer than her."

"How do you always know these things, Marina?" Vanessa asked.

"My element represents clarity, remember?" Marina reminded them. "I can tell if someone is a good person."

"But you can't see the bad ones?" Lea asked.

"Working on it, though just because things didn't work out, that doesn't automatically make him a bad guy."

"Whatever." Terra said. "Besides, whether we like it or not, we're involved. No one threatens my family and gets away with it."

"You know we've got you're back, Terra." Vanessa said. The girls headed back to their place.

"All we can do now is see what she does next." Marina stated. "I'll see what the others know tomorrow."


	4. Volunteer Trouble

A few days later, the girls went to the park for some volunteer thing. "Is there a reason you dragged the rest of us into this?" Lea asked.

"Come on, Lea. You know we have to fit in." Terra said. "Besides, not like we have anything better to do."

"Besides, some of the others are here, too." Marina pointed out.

"Okay, I guess we're in. We splitting up and working separately or staying together?" Vanessa asked.

"If anything happens, reach out with your powers." Marina reminded them. The girls got their assignments and went their separate ways. Marina went over to help with painting and ran into Elena and Caroline. "Hey, guys."

"You guys volunteered, too?"

"Terra and I kinda forced the others into it." Marina admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you're here." Caroline said. "We could use the extra help." Marina noticed how down she looked.

"What's up?"

"It's my mom." Caroline admitted to them. "She usually works all the time whenever I want to speak with her. So suddenly, she's on the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." She noticed the girls busy painting. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this."

"No, sorry. Then what happened?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was a bitch but it's part of the process." Caroline explained. "So, how are things between you and Stefan? Anything?"

"No, not since the fight. He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me." Elena explained. "I just don't know how to change his mind."

"You guys broke up?" Marina asked. "Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say."

"You said that Katherine's dangerous. Maybe he's got a point" Caroline pointed out.

"Yeah, I know that she's dangerous and I know that he's just trying to protect me but it feels like giving up and I just…" Elena broke off for a second.

"Just what?"

"I just thought we were stronger than that." Elena finished. Marina looked at her. Something felt kind of off, but she didn't know what.

Terra was on her way to the woods, when she noticed Damon talking with Sheriff Forbes. She stayed hidden while she listened to them. "Hey, I saw you with Mason earlier. What was that about?"

"I just asked him to help with the cleanup in the woods." Sheriff Forbes explained.

"That's why I'm here for, put me to work. Should I go help him?"

"Oh no. You know, he's… I'm sure he's fine"

"Are you okay, Liz? You seem really upset."

"It's Caroline. We had a moment." Terra felt kind of bad for her. She used to push her parents away, too.

"Is there anything I can do?" Damon asked.

"No, Damon. Thank you. It's just the horrible parental skills paying off and space." The Sheriff told him. As soon as she left, Terra came over.

"Hey." He turned around in surprise. "Relax. I'm not Lea. Unlike her, the rest of us have nothing against you."

"So then why are you here?" Damon asked.

"I thought I could help. If you want to talk to Caroline, she's over at the wall." Terra told him. "I'll see you around." She walked away, glad that Lea hadn't been there at the time.

The girls were busy painting. Elena glanced over at Stefan. Caroline and Marina both noticed.

"Uh, oh. Longing looks are being exchanged." Caroline commented.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Elena said.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline told her. Marina looked at her, confused. Elena seemed to ignore Caroline's warning and walked away.

"What is your problem?" Marina asked. "Elena's your friend."

"I know. But I can't tell you everything right now." Just then Damon came over.

"What's her problem?"

"It's nothing." Marina said. "They've been arguing." He turned to Caroline.

"Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?"

"Don't worry about it." Caroline said.

"Maybe you need to talk with her." Marina suggested. She looked over and saw Stefan and Elena talking. They didn't seem happy. She looked at Damon and Caroline. "You can hear them, can't you?"

"Comes in handy sometimes." Damon told her. Just then, Elena left. Marina noticed her as she passed by.

"Relationships are about communication." He told Caroline. She looked over to the path Elena took and went after her. Marina followed close behind.

"I'm coming with you." Marina said. "He's right though. Maybe you can start by telling us what you're hiding."

"I can't." Caroline said. "Not right now, anyway."

"Look, I don't want to upset you, Care. I think she went that way." Marina pointed in a direction and they followed the path. They found Elena sitting alone near the river.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked. Marina sat next to Elena on the opposite side of her.

"No." Elena told them.

"You know, maybe it's for the best." Caroline told her. This time, Marina knew she was sincere.

"It's not for the best, Caroline. None of this is for the best." Elena said, staring into the water. Marina looked at her.

"I know it's hard on you." Marina said.

"I'm sorry, okay? I… I don't mean to take it out on you." Elena told Caroline. "You're just being a good friend." Caroline looked away, feeling guilty about lying to her and the fact she was working with Katherine.

"No. I'm not. I'm not being a good friend at all." Caroline said. Marina looked over at them.

"Hey, I want to show you guys something." She told them. They looked at her. "Well, I've been practicing a little, but here it goes." She placed her fingertips near the water and began tracing patterns. Small ribbons of water followed where her fingers traced.

"That's amazing." Elena said.

"It's nothing compared to what I can do underwater, but it's still pretty cool." Marina said. She drew circles, then lifted her hands up. Bubbles surrounded the girls.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Caroline asked, impressed by what she could do.

"I have trouble with aiming sometimes. Worst case scenario, the person ends up soaked."

"It's like when I found out Bonnie was a witch." Elena said. Caroline noticed her mom walking away.

"Is she leaving?" She stood up. Just then, the bubbles popped, getting the group wet. "Where is my mom going?" She walked toward where she'd seen her before. The girls followed her.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. Something's up." Caroline said. Marina followed them and put her hand on something under her shirt. Caroline started climbing a hill.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"I need to be able to hear better." She told them.

"Hear what?"

"Something's wrong, Elena."

"I've got that feeling, too." Marina said. She gripped the pendant under her shirt tighter.

"Oh god." Caroline said.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"Stefan and Damon"

"What?"

"We better look for them." Caroline said.

"I think Terra's out here somewhere. Maybe she can help." Marina told them. The girls ran into the woods. Sure enough, they bumped into Terra.

"Hey."

"Terra, the sheriff got…"

"I know. I saw what happened." Terra told them.

"Do you know which way they went?" Marina asked. Terra focused for a second.

"Looks like you're headed the right way." Terra said. "I'm coming with you guys."

"How do you know that, anyway?" Elena asked.

"Because my powers are based around earth, I can find anyone as long as they're around the area I'm in." Terra explained. "It doesn't matter if the person's dead or alive. As long as I'm near the same town it's easy."

The four girls took off through the woods looking for any sign of them. "Are they okay?" Marina asked.

"For now they are." Terra told her. Caroline stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"They've been here." She noticed blood on one of the plants. Then she looked up. Terra glanced around, too.

"What?" Elena asked. Just then, Mason Lockwood showed up.

"What are you girls doing out here?" He asked.

"Is he the werewolf?" Terra whispered to Caroline. She nodded.

"Have you seen Stefan?" Elena asked him.

"Yeah Elena, I've seen him. Seen Damon too." He told them. The witches looked at each other. They didn't like where this was heading.

"Where are they?" Elena asked.

"You don't need me for that. I'll let your friend here sniff them out." Mason told her. He turned to Caroline. "Does your mother know what you are? I'll happy to tell her."

"You creep!" Terra yelled. He grabbed Elena and held her.

"Don't be stupid! Necks snap easy around here." He told them.

"I can take you." Caroline said. Marina nodded to her, remembering their clothes were still wet.

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah. I do." Caroline rushed over to him. Marina used her powers to direct the water at Mason. In surprise, he let go of Elena while Caroline fought him off and eventually knocked him out. Terra pulled her away from them.

"I told you." Caroline said after he passed out. "Come on." She told the others.

"They're underground!" Terra told them as they took off running again.

"Can you be more specific?" Caroline asked.

"That's all I've got. They're weak, so it's hard to pinpoint it."

"Use your hearing." Marina told her. "It should help."

Just then, they heard something in the ruins. "What is that?" Elena asked. Caroline listened hard. "Caroline. Caroline, what is it?"

"My mom. She's killing them." She told them.

"What? We have to stop her!"

"No, I can't." Caroline pointed out. "Elena, she's gonna find out about me." The girls watched in surprise as Elena ran inside. Marina started to follow, but hesitated.

"Are you really going to let her face them alone?" Terra asked. "Some advice, a real friend doesn't turn her back on others just because she's frightened."

"Yeah, you had to learn that the hard way." Marina pointed out.

"Shut up." Caroline looked at her, then headed into the ruins.

"What's going on?" Marina asked her when she heard chaos a few minutes later.

"She took out the deputies. Let's go." Terra told her. "They'll need help." The two of them entered the ruins to find Elena safely backed against the wall, the Salvatore brothers on the ground, and the Sheriff staring in shock at her daughter.

"Oh, God. Are they…" Marina began.

"No, they're still alive." Terra told her. "But Stefan's in worse condition." Marina went over to them. Terra turned to Elena. "Are you okay?" Elena nodded.

"How did you two get…" The sheriff began.

"The door was open." Terra pointed out. "And we're only here because of Elena and Caroline. I suggest you put that thing down before someone gets hurt." Hesitantly, she lowered her gun and put it away.

A few minutes later, the guys were up. "Doesn't it usually take hours for them to move if they're weakened?" Elena asked.

"Not when you know have someone who can help them heal faster." Marina pointed out.

"Hey, don't forget who got the bullets out." Terra said.

"You need to drink some deputy blood." Damon told Stefan.

"No. I'm gonna be fine. It's gonna take a little bit longer."

"You almost died, Stef." Marina pointed out. "No offense, but we kind of prefer you alive. I mean…oh, you know what I mean."

"Damon's right you know. If it's ever time to break your diet…" Caroline added.

"He said he didn't want it, okay?" Elena told them. That got everyone quiet for a moment.

"This is the most unfortunate situation. Two deputies dead and you." Damon turned to the Sheriff. "What am I gonna do with you?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you? Mom?" Caroline pleaded. "Mom? Please. Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please. He will kill you." Everyone else froze. Marina felt bad for both of them, Caroline since she'd never wanted to be this way in the first place, and her mother was a vampire hunter who had to deal with this new fact.

"Then kill me." The sheriff said. "I can't take this. Kill me now." Marina and Terra gasped.

"She can't be serious!" Marina said. Terra turned to her in fear.

"I'm afraid she is. She'd rather die than keep her daughter's secret." They heard a crash. The next thing they knew, Damon was holding her.

"Damon, don't!" Stefan yelled.

"Damon, please!" Elena said.

"Relax guys. No one is killing anybody." The group relaxed. He turned back to Liz. "You're my friend." He noticed the area. "We have to clean this up."

"We'll help." Terra said. "Besides, I was part of the clean up crew."

A few hours later, Marina was at the Boarding House. She wanted to check up on everyone before heading home. "Damon says it'll take 3 days' tops for the vervain to leave her system." Elena was saying.

"Good to know everything's worked out."

"You came back?" Elena asked.

"I wanted to make sure everything was okay." Marina told them.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Stefan asked.

"Sure." Marina followed him out of the room. "So, what is it?"

"That healing spell you did earlier…how did you know it'd work?"

"It's not too different from healing a person," Marina explained. "Just one of those things that comes naturally, I guess. Plus I healed this vampire friend at my old school."

"What happened?"

"She disappeared last November." Marina told him. "I think she's dead."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Besides, I don't have many good memories of that place anyway. I'm more focused on what's going on here." Marina said.

"Thanks for helping us earlier." Stefan told her. "You know you didn't have to."

"I would never leave someone for dead." Marina said. "Even if they've already died."

"I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Marina turned around and left. Elena was sitting with Caroline in the living room.

"Katherine's gonna be there and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today." Caroline was explaining. "She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her."

"So, she's using you to get information?" Marina asked, joining the girls.

"I know and I've been so mad at you. But then, I tried to put myself in your position so that I could understand why you would do this to me and to Stefan because he's been such a friend to you." Elena said. "Who did she threaten?"

"She threatened Matt." Caroline explained. "I'm so scared of her, Elena!"

"And you should be. Caroline, we all should be." Elena pointed out.

"I don't know why she's trying to ruin your lives, but I'm not going to let her get away with it." Marina told them. She sat next to the girls. "I promise that me and my friends will do what we can to stop her."

"Why is she doing this? What does she want?"

"That's the million dollar question." Elena pointed out. She embraced Caroline.

Over at the girls' house, Marina had finished explaining everything. "From what I know so far, she's using poor Caroline to break up Elena and Stefan."

"Okay, let me get this straight." Lea said. "The whole reason she came into town was because she's jealous and wanted to cause a love quarrel?"

"That sounds nothing like the Katherine that they described." Vanessa pointed out.

"From what I know, I think it's more going on than just jealousy." Terra said. "I mean if she were only jealous, why would she turn Caroline?"

"And then use her to try and break them up by threatening her boyfriend or whatever." Marina added. "There's something here that we're not getting. I'm sure she didn't drop in just to break them up so she could leave town with him."

"You know what else I don't get, why that Mason guy is even here." Terra said.

"Mason Lockwood?" Lea asked.

"You know him?" Everyone asked.

"I've only heard of him." Lea admitted. "He's Tyler's uncle." They all looked at her, confused. "The mayor's son? He's in the same class as us."

"Does that mean he's a werewolf, too?" Vanessa asked.

"From what I can tell, no." Terra said. "I mean, he hasn't activated the curse or anything."

"There's something weird about all this and I have a feeling Katherine's somehow connected to it." Marina said.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to figure out what it is." Lea said. "I don't care if I have to work with him or not. If she's anything like our ancestor's say, we might need all the help we can get."


	5. Finding the Moonstone

A few days later, the girls went to help set up for the Masquerade Ball. "I don't see why we have to volunteer at every event." Lea said.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is going to be cool?" Vanessa asked. "I mean, they're having an actual Masquerade party."

"Come on, Lea. Even you have to admit it sounds like it'll be fun." Marina said.

"I guess." Lea said.

"Well, we better get to work." Terra said as they got closer to where everyone was helping. The girls separated from each other.

Lea and Vanessa ran into Bonnie and Elena. "Caroline's not coming. I told you." Elena was saying.

"Just making sure." Bonnie said.

"You know, eventually, you're gonna have to talk to her."

"She's right, you know." Vanessa said. "Sorry for interrupting, but we kinda overheard."

"You don't have to avoid Caroline." Lea pointed out.

"Could you make it a little less obvious you're on her side?" Bonnie said.

"There are no sides, Bonnie." Elena pointed out.

"Come on! Since Caroline became a vampire, we've barely seen each other." She pointed out. "Losing Caroline was bad enough. I didn't think I'd lose you, too."

"You haven't lost Caroline, though." Vanessa pointed out. "You've been pushing her away."

"Come with me." Elena told Bonnie.

"Where?"

"Not here. Some place quiet. We have to talk." Elena grabbed Bonnie's hand and the two of them left.

"Looks like she's one of those witches." Lea said.

"I think her position's compromised." Vanessa said. "I mean, Caroline was her friend and she's probably still in shock over her turning. Not to mention she's friends with one of the Salvatores."

"True. Speaking of which, let me know if you see Damon." Lea said. "I'll know to walk the other way."

"Lea." Vanessa sighed as the two got to work.

Terra was working over by the tables when she noticed a familiar figure speaking with Damon. She walked over to them. "Mr. Saltzman?"

"Terra."

"What are you doing here?" Terra asked him.

"My girlfriend's into these things and I'm helping Damon out with some research."

"So, what've you got?" Damon asked him.

"This is Isobel research's from Duke. Her assistant send it to me." Alaric told them. "Do you remember the old Aztecs curse she told us about?"

"An Aztec curse? Cool." Terra turned and saw another guy with them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but who are you?"

"You must be one of those new girls my sister's talked about." The guy said. "I'm Jeremy Gilbert."

"Oh, you're Elena's brother. I'm Terra." She turned back to them. "So, what's this about a curse?"

"Supposedly vampires and werewolves used to run freely until a shaman put a curse on them, imitating their power." Alaric explained. "Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun."

"Most of them anyway." Damon told them, holding up his ring.

"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with a moonstone."

"What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a witch thing, whatever seals the curse is usually the key onto unsealing the curse." Damon said.

"I'm impressed. You've been studying up on witches?" Terra said.

"When you've lived as long as I have, occasionally you run into a few of them." He pointed out.

"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse." Alaric said.

"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy mojo legend from a picture book, we're idiots." Damon said.

"You know what they say, Damon. Sometimes fiction is based on fact." Terra pointed out.

"Where is the stone now?" Damon asked.

"Tyler." Jeremy told him.

"Can you get it?"

"Yeah"

"You see, now your life has a purpose"

"So you do believe it?" Jeremy asked.

"This is the same book that says the werewolf bite kills a vampire. Ignoring it make me an even bigger idiot." Damon pointed out. "Let's go."

Marina was helping sort out masks, when she noticed Elena talking with Jeremy. She overheard all of what happened next. "There is no "Damon and you". There's Damon and whoever Damon is using, and those people, they end up dead." Elena was telling him. "Whatever is going on Jeremy, I want you to stay out of it."

"I don't really care what you want, Elena. It's because of you that I'm in this mess in the first place so I'm sorry, you don't really get to tell me what I'm gonna do." Jeremy pointed out. He left her standing there.

"That was harsh." Marina said.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about this." Elena told her.

"If it's one thing I know about siblings its that you can't always tell them what to do." Marina said. "I might not have any real siblings, but the other girls come really close. Besides, you can't always protect them."

"I know. I tried so hard to keep him out of all this, but in the end, it made things worse." Elena explained. "Whether we like it or not, I guess he's involved."

"Yeah, well we're both involved in sorting these masks." Marina pointed out. "It might help get your mind off things."

Lea was working on decorating, when she noticed the guys talking. "She's got to be using him, it has to be." She heard Damon saying. She walked over to them.

"Using him for what?" Stefan asked.

"Mason Lockwood's looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse. Maybe Katherine wants it as well."

"Why?"

"Well… no idea. This is the beauty of Katherine; she's always up to something."

"You sure you're not just jealous of him?" Lea asked suddenly. They both turned to look at her.

"Look, if you're here to torture me, you need to get over it."

"Please, after what Mason tried to do to my friends in the woods, I'm so in." Lea told them. "The guy's a total jerk."

"So how are we gonna find this moonstone?" Stefan asked.

"Jeremy is gonna get it from Tyler" Damon explained.

"Why would you involve Jeremy?"

"He's playing Indiana Jones, he involved himself."

"Thanks for leaving me to do this alone, Lea." Terra thought as she helped with the decorations. She overheard Tyler and Matt talking nearby.

"She's this amazing girl one minute and then this raging jealous freak the next."

"Look, you know what I think about Caroline Forbes." Tyler said. That got her attention. "She's an insecure narcotic bitchy little twig."

"Excuse me?" Terra asked. "What was that you said about my friend?"

"But the girl's got heart, she means well. You just get the mean with the best sometimes." He told Matt. He turned to Terra. "Sorry, I didn't know you were close with her."

"We're not exactly close, but I hate when people trash talk people that I care about." Terra said. Lea came over just as Matt was leaving.

"Hey. Sorry. I got sidetracked." Lea told them. "I think I have some idea of what she's up to."

"You mean Kath…" Lea motioned for Terra to be quiet. Jeremy headed over to Tyler.

"Hey, man"

"Hey!"

"Hey, so I did a little research on that stone you showed me." Jeremy told him. The girls helped work on the decorations as they listened to them.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. Curiosity, boredom…"

"What did it say?" Tyler asked.

"Well, it turns out that it's part of this Aztec legend but I want to make sure it's the same kind of stone." Jeremy said. "You think I could check it out again?"

"How'd this kid get involved?" Lea whispered.

"He's Elena's brother." Terra whispered back.

"No. I gave it to my uncle." Tyler told Jeremy. Terra and Lea looked at each other, worried.

"Why did you do that?" Jeremy asked.

"Because I'm done with legends and curses. I don't want anything to do with it, okay?" Tyler told him.

"If Mason has it, this could be trouble." Terra told Lea.

"Why? What else does the legend say?" Lea asked.

"Supposedly, if werewolves break the curse that's sealed in the moonstone, they can turn anytime they want." Terra told her.

"Why is that a problem?"

"The legend also states that a wolf bite is fatal to a vampire."

"I can't believe this." Lea said. She clenched her fists. "That's it. We're going to need some serious back-up. Find Bonnie, I'll tell the guys what happened."

Terra ended up texting Bonnie and found out where she was. Lea had already taken off to find the guys. "Hey, how'd you get here so fast?"

"Stefan asked me to talk with him." Bonnie told her.

"How'd you know that…you guys were eavesdropping again, weren't you?" Lea asked.

"We kinda didn't have a choice." Damon pointed out. "It's sort of an emergency, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I'd side with Mason if he hadn't threatened my teammates." Lea told him. "And my new friend."

"Okay. This is as far as I go." Bonnie said. Lea noticed how tense she was.

"Okay."

"What do you want?"

"A favor."

"That's not gonna happen." She told him.

"So predictable. that's why I brought him." Damon said, indicating to his brother.

"Just for the record, I'm here at my own free will." Lea told her.

"I know how you feel about helping us out but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them so just hear us out." Stefan told Bonnie.

"And we all have something against one or both of them, so unless you don't feel the same way…" Lea began.

"I'm listening." Bonnie interrupted. Just then, someone's cell phone started ringing. Everyone turned to Stefan.

Elena was on the other end, waiting for Stefan to pick up. Marina was next to her. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Marina asked.

"I'm worried. Bonnie can't stand him as much as Lea." Elena told her.

Back with the others, Lea stood next to Bonnie's side. "I have to let Elena in on what's going on." Stefan turned to Damon. "Can you play nice please?" He answered the phone. "Hey, what are you doing? You shouldn't be calling me"

"I know but I have no idea what's happening." Elena said. "Damon's got Jeremy into something and you've got Bonnie with you and I'm sorting stupid masquerade masks for Mrs. Lockwood."

Stefan left to continue talking with Elena, leaving the witches with Damon.

"All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again to see if he gave Katherine the moonstone." He explained.

"My visions don't work like that." Bonnie told him. "I don't get to ask questions."

"How inconvenient. Although, let's about that witchy mojo you do with me. You know the fun one, when my brain burst into flames? What is that?"

"That's me giving you an aneurysm. Your blood vessels go pop but you heal quickly so I do it over and over again."

"Is it vampire specific?"

"It'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability."

"You know that one? I've been trying to learn it for years." Lea told her.

"Damon, I'm not gonna help you hurt him." Bonnie said. "Anyway, why can't Lea do it? After all, the Fire Representatives are clairvoyant."

"How'd you know that?" Lea asked, surprised she knew about it.

"According to Emily's spell book, it tells what other abilities you guys might have."

"Look, Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, Katherine's evil. They're the bad guys." Damon told them. "Let me explain it to you another way: they're a threat to Elena. You witch, are gonna get over yourself and help us."

"Don't make me hurt you." Lea said. Stefan returned and had heard everything.

"Yeah, he meant that as a question with a "please" on the end."

"Fine, how are we going to do this?" Lea asked.

Later, the girls helped bring Mason into the Boarding House. He was still knocked out. "I can't believe he had us do this." Lea said.

"It's Damon we're talking about." Bonnie pointed out.

"I saw a brief image. He showed Katherine the moonstone. At least, I think it was Katherine." Lea told them.

"Did he give it to her?" Damon asked.

"No."

"Here, maybe I can try to find it." Bonnie said. She put her hands on Mason's head. She got a vision herself.

"Looks like it's in a well? No, that can't be right. Yeah, it's a well."

"Okay." Lea said. "I have to get back to helping set up the party. Sorry to bail on you guys."

"No problem. Thanks to you, at least we know Katherine doesn't have the moonstone." Damon pointed out.

"See you around." Lea told him. She left the building without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Vanessa, Marina, Elena, and Matt were still setting up. "I cannot believe your little brother and Lea bailed on me back there." Vanessa said.

"At least Terra's helping on the other end of this thing." Marina said, holding up a piece of string.

"So where's Caroline? This is like her thing." Matt pointed out. "I can't believe she's not here."

"She has something else to do." Elena told him.

"Is she seeing someone?"

"Matt, come on. No, she's not"

"Seriously, she's not even over you." Marina said. They both looked at her. "Oops." Just then, Stefan showed up.

"You okay?"

"Not really." Then Tyler showed up.

"Has anyone seen Mason?"

"He took off. He said he wasn't sure when he'd be back." Stefan told him.

"It's so weird." Tyler left to go look for him.

"He left, didn't he?" Vanessa asked.

"Do me a favor. Find Terra, I have no idea how to hang this thing up." Marina told her.

"I'll be right back." Elena told them. Marina noticed Stefan was missing. She was getting a bad feeling about this. She took off after Elena.

Terra had finished hanging a lantern when Vanessa found her. "We're having problem with the lights." Vanessa told her.

"You okay?"

"I'm worried about Marina." Vanessa admitted. "She's been off all day."

"I know." Terra said. "Wait a second, something's wrong."

"What is it?"

"Come on, they're in the woods!" Terra grabbed Vanessa and ran off.

In the woods, Elena and Marina showed up at a well. They found Stefan there.

"What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Marina told her. Elena jumped, surprised.

"You shouldn't be here." Stefan pointed out.

"I know but I am. What's going on?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here." Stefan told them. He opened the well. Marina looked in.

"Hey. Be careful." Elena told him.

"Uh, Stef, I wouldn't…" Marina began.

"I'll only be down there for a minute." He told them. As soon as he jumped in, it took about a second. "Elena!"

"Stefan, what's happening?" Elena asked, panicking. "What's going on in there?"

"Vervain. Oh my god! Help!"

"I knew there wasn't something right about the water!" Marina said. "Guess I see why he put it in here."

"Later, we've gotta help Stefan!" Elena pointed out. She tried pulling the chain off, but it was too heavy for her. Caroline showed up right then.

"Elena!" A few seconds later, Terra showed up, too.

"Stefan's down there and the chain is rusty." Elena told them. Caroline got ready to jump in, but Elena stopped her. "No, no, no! You can't, it's full of vervain."

"Maybe I could try to kill the plants." Terra said.

"What good will that do? It's in the water." Marina pointed out. "Alive or dead, it won't make a difference."

"Caroline, we've got to get him out now." Elena told her. Vanessa showed up just as she took the chain off.

"Good thing you brought me with you."

"Good thing I was able to track them when I did." Terra pointed out. It took several minutes, but they managed to help Elena chain herself.

"Watch it down there." Marina told her. Elena nodded.

"I got you okay?" Caroline told her. Bonnie showed up.

"I was wondering when you'd get here." Terra told her.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked. "You took off in a blur." She told Caroline.

"I heard Elena screaming. Help her, now!" She told Bonnie.

"Looks like she's all set." Vanessa said. "We better give Caroline a hand anyway." The rest of the group positioned themselves so they were standing near her.

"Are you ready?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah." Caroline lowered Elena down into the well. The rest of the girls helped her, even though she was strong enough to do it on her own. Vanessa heard Elena moving, but that was all she could hear.

"I think she's got him. It's too hard to tell." Terra said.

"Elena, what's going on down there?" Caroline called down.

"Follow up!" Elena called to them. Caroline and the rest of the girls pulled Stefan out of the well. There were burn marks all over his skin.

"Whoa. It really does burn them." Vanessa said. "I thought that was just a myth."

"No, the whole garlic thing's a myth." Terra pointed out. "You've read your ancestor's journal and you haven't figured out fact from fiction?"

"Can you argue later?" Marina pointed out. "Come on." Terra and Bonnie untied Stefan and set him on the ground. Marina sat next to him and concentrated. She pulled back after a few seconds. "It's not working."

"Maybe it's effected by how long they're in it." Vanessa suggested.

"Elena! Ready for you!" Caroline called.

"Hold on! I need to find the stone." (Elena looks everywhere)

"Hurry!"

"Hold on! I think I found it!" She called up. The next thing the girls heard was her screaming.

"What's going on?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know, but something's down there with her." Terra told them.

"Elena! What's going on?"

"I got it. Come on, bring me up!" Everyone focused on getting Elena out of the well. Bonnie helped get her out.

"Oh god! Stefan!" Elena ran over to him and cut her wrist with a rock, giving it to him. "I've got the stone, Stefan. Everything's gonna be okay."

"Can you do something to help?" Bonnie asked the others.

"I tried. It wouldn't work." Marina told them. "Guess the vervain messes up their ability to heal, so it effects my ability to heal them the longer they're around it."

"At least he's safe." Terra said. "Nice timing, by the way."

"Well, not all of us are super fast like Caroline." Bonnie said. "I'm glad she made it here when she did. Who knows how much longer it would've taken if she hadn't?" Caroline looked over at her and smiled.

"Well, we should probably get going." Terra said. "I haven't been able to find Lea all afternoon."

"She was helping me earlier." Bonnie told her. "I'll call you guys as soon as I can."

"Yeah, after the day we've been having, we could use a break." Vanessa said.

"I have to go, too. I have to do something important." Caroline told them. "I'll see you tomorrow."

That night, the girls were at their house. Marina was on the phone with Elena. "It will be okay, Elena." She told her. "I hope you can work things out in the end." She turned to the rest of the girls in the living room. "They broke up." She told them. "Apparently, she compelled her aunt to stab herself."

"Does that girl have any respect for family members?" Terra asked.

"This is Katherine we're talking about, Terra." Vanessa pointed out. "That manipulative bitch."

"Not to mention she's threatened Caroline before." Lea added. "How did we get involved in this mess?"

"When we became friends with a group of supernatural teens." Terra pointed out. "But, I feel like we're here because of them."

"One thing is for sure, though." Marina said. "Katherine is completely ruthless and we're going to have to help take that bitch down."

"I'm in." Lea said. "I have had it with her. She's endangered everyone enough, especially Elena."

"Same here." Vanessa said. "Caroline's got enough going on. The last thing she needs is more torture from her."


	6. The Masquerade Plan

A few days later, the girls were at home. "Hey, guys." Terra said, entering the main room. "I think I saw Katherine today."

"What do you mean?" Marina asked.

"I was at the Mystic Grill with Caroline." Terra explained.

"She still having Matt drama?" Vanessa asked.

"That's beside the point. When she came out of the girl's room, Elena was with her, only something about her felt darker, so I listened to her thoughts. Then I was sure it wasn't Elena." Terra told them.

"What's her plan?" Lea asked. She already didn't like where this was going.

"She wants the moonstone and won't hesitate to kill others in order to get it."

"We know that much." Marina pointed out.

"And that if we don't do something about it tonight, Katherine's going to go on a murder spree." Terra finished.

"Wait, tonight?" Vanessa asked.

"She'll be waiting at the masquerade ball."

"Then we better help them." Marina said. "She's already hurt the others enough." Vanessa's phone vibrated. She opened it and looked at the text message.

"It's from Stefan." She told them. "They're having a meeting at the Boarding House."

"We should head over." Lea said.

It wasn't long before the girls arrived at the Boarding House. "Hey, guys." Caroline said. "I'm guessing you know about Katherine's plan."

"We're guessing that's why we're all meeting here." Terra said.

"There's no way we're gonna let that girl get what she wants." Vanessa added.

"That's what we like to hear."

"Damn it! You know I hate it when you just appear out of nowhere like that!" Lea pointed out.

"Sorry, just didn't think you scared easily." Damon said

"You know what…." Lea began.

"This is really not the time for this." Stefan pointed out. "This is about taking Katherine down, for good. If you're not in this a hundred percent, feel free to leave now." The girls were surprised. They'd never heard him speak with such authority and leadership before.

"I'll try to control my anger." Lea said.

"Relax, we'll be there if she gets out of control." There was a knock at the door. Jeremy came in.

"Hey." Jeremy said. "We have to do something about Katherine."

"We know." Marina said. "If she succeeds with her plan…"

"What plan? I was talking about Elena." Jeremy told her. "She's basically given up since Jenna…"

"Well, it's a good thing I showed up, then." A voice behind them said. The girls turned around.

"Mr. Saltzman?"

"Hi, girls."

"What's he doing here?" Terra asked. "And don't say he's volunteering to re-decorate the place."

"He's a vampire hunter." Damon told them. "And sort of a friend of ours."

"He seems normal enough."

"That's because he is." Marina said. "I'd know the difference between a living person and an undead one."

"Come on, let's try to come up with a plan." Terra said, getting the girls focused. They were sitting around the living room, trying to figure out a plan. "What if we try giving her a fake moonstone?"

"Wouldn't she be able to tell the difference?" Marina asked. "I mean, no offense, but we can barely create duplicate objects to look identical to the real copy."

"Well, maybe we could try using a spell to neutralize her." Vanessa suggested.

"Bad idea." Lea said. "Katherine's smart, so she'd probably suspect something like that."

"There's gotta be something we can do." Marina said. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Maybe there is." Terra told them. Caroline went to let Bonnie in. She seemed confused by the activity around her.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"We're gonna kill Katherine." Jeremy told her.

"I can explain." Stefan told her.

"Please."

"We're gonna kill Katherine."

"And we need some serious help." Marina added. The group turned their attention to Alaric, who was showing everyone one of the weapons. The girls went back to their corner of the room.

"Maybe we should do a spell to lock her up somewhere." Vanessa suggested.

"How? It's a public event." Lea pointed out.

"Wait, wait." Bonnie interrupted. "That might work. I've done a spell like that before." She looked down. "But Katherine's dangerous. What if she kills an innocent by-stander?"

"Well, we don't want her to hurt anyone either, Bon, but she needs to be stopped." Terra told her.

"Plus, we'll all be there helping." Marina added. "She won't get away fast enough with a bunch of witches."

"But we need a way to lure her away from the rest of the party." Vanessa said.

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking." Terra said. "But she still thinks Caroline's her spy."

"I'll be right back." Bonnie said. She got up to speak with Stefan. The rest of the girls turned to each other.

"I don't know if she's really on board with this plan." Marina told the others.

"But without a regular witch on our side, there's no way the trap will work." Vanessa pointed out.

"I don't think we have to worry about it." Terra said. "If anyone convince her to help, it's Stefan." Bonnie rejoined the girls a few minutes later.

"Okay, I think the spell's in here." She opened her grimore and flipped through until she found the right spell.

"That's like the spell Emily used to save her from the fire." Terra said, recalling seeing a similar design drawn in her ancestor's journal.

"Yeah, but this one's a little easier. We're only keeping it up for a few hours at the most, then we should be able to take it down as easily." Bonnie explained.

"This might actually work." Lea said.

A few minutes later, the group met in the living room. "Are you sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" Alaric asked them.

"No, I need you to stay with Elena." Stefan told him. "I don't want her to know about this."

"Okay. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my side."

"Alright, if anyone wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan told everyone.

"Yeah. Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going on if someone chicken's out. Caroline?" Damon said.

"I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair." Caroline pointed out. "As long there's no werewolf running around."

"Oh, I took care of Mason."

"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn." Jeremy told them.

"We're in. The girl's punished all of you enough." Terra said. "I think I speak for all of us when I say no way she's getting away with this."

"Bonnie? Are you with us?" Everyone turned to face her.

"But no one gets hurt." Bonnie finally said after a while.

"Except Katherine. Tonight Katherine gets a stake through her heart." Damon pointed out.

"Well, let's go, girls." Vanessa said. "We've still got to get our outfits for tonight."

"Seriously?"

"Well, you don't expect us to go to a dance like this, do you?" Marina pointed out.

That night, the girls showed up at the dance. "This would be so cool if it weren't for our plan." Vanessa pointed out. She was in a silver dress with a white mask.

"Quiet! She could be anywhere." Terra pointed out. Even through her brown mask, the others could tell she was angry. She was in a matching colored dress.

"So, how will this work again?" Lea asked. She was in an orange dress with a black flame pattern across the bottom of the skirt. Her mask was black.

"I'll help set up the room while you guys keep an eye out." Terra told them. "There's no point in having all of us go up there. It could draw attention."

"And we don't want her to know we're here." Marina added. "She knows our ancestor's and since I look similar to mine…" Her silver mask kept her covered, though. She was wearing a pale blue dress.

"Relax, we're all in masks, remember."

"Still, I can tell who's who." Lea pointed out. "Come on, let's split up. If anything happens…"

"We know what to do." Vanessa said, cutting her off as the girls split up. Terra headed upstairs with Bonnie and Jeremy.

"I thought this room could work." He told them.

"It's perfect." Bonnie took out the grimore and helped set it up. Marina appeared in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Terra asked.

"Thought you guys could use a hand." Marina said. "And to let you know that she's here, but she's disguised herself as Elena again."

"Should've guessed that would happen." Terra said.

"Can you do all the stuff that's in there?" Jeremy asked, looking at the spell book.

"It takes practice. I've worked on some small spells. Spells that only do good." Bonnie explained. "I don't want to know too much. I don't particularly enjoy any of this, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah but you're 100% witch, that is so cool."

"It's anything but cool. Did your family's journal tell you what happened to Emily? Or what about my grams?" Bonnie pointed out. "It never ends well for people like me."

"If you feel that way, why help?"

"Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt and I don't know how to stay out of it."

"I get it, Bonnie. I know how hard this witch stuff can be." Terra said. "Try finding out you're not a regular witch, but one who can only use earth-based abilities."

"Come on, we have to get this thing set up."

Downstairs, Vanessa was hanging out with Caroline. "Hey. Nice dress." She said.

"Thanks, how'd you know it was me?"

"It's hard not to notice someone with hair like yours." Vanessa pointed out.

"So, how's it going with the guys?" Caroline asked her. She had just come out of the office, where the guys had been.

"It's going well. But I have this weird feeling something's off about Matt." Vanessa told her. "I'm not sure, though."

"How about we head out back with the others?" Caroline suggested. "While we're here, we may as well enjoy the party while we can."

"Can't argue with that." Vanessa said, following her out back.

Bonnie, Terra, Marina, and Jeremy headed back downstairs. "We need to let Stefan and Damon know the room's ready." Suddenly, Bonnie felt something and stopped. Terra picked up on it, too, and looked around. "Do you feel that?"

"What's the matter? Are you cold?" Jeremy asked.

"No."

"I feel it, too." Marina said. Bonnie walked over to a woman wearing a gold mask.

"Excuse me, do I know you?" Bonnie asked. The other girls stood a short distance behind her.

"No, I'm a plus one." The woman told her. "I know no one, but it's a great party though." The woman left. Terra couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about her.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I just got a weird vibe." Bonnie told him. "Let's find Damon." They headed outside. Marina noticed Terra's expression.

"What is it?"

"That woman…there's something very familiar about her." Terra said. "I'm going to try and find her."

"Okay, remember to help us take the spell down later." Marina told her.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten our reason for being here." Terra said. They both left and went separate ways.

Outside, Lea was walking around by herself. "Excuse me?" She turned around and found herself looking at Damon. "Lea."

"Hey, Damon." Lea said, turning away from him.

"You wanna dance?"

"Excuse me? Are you forgetting we're on a mission here?" Lea asked, turning back around.

"It's just to pass the time. At least, until Katherine shows up. It beats standing around waiting." Lea sighed, and allowed him to lead her out to the dance floor. Unfortunately, a slow song was playing. "You look beautiful."

"Don't." Lea said. "You don't get to talk to me like that. Not after what you put me through."

"It was just a compliment." Damon pointed out. "Why are you so angry with me?"

"Because you led me on." Lea explained. "You should've told me from the beginning that you were already in love with someone, instead of on our second date."

"In my defense, I didn't know what you were then." Damon protested. "Heck, I barely even knew you. Or that you couldn't be compelled."

"Wait, you tried to compel me?" Lea asked. "Never mind, it's not important. You shouldn't have led me on. The only good thing about this is that she dumped you."

He looked at her in surprise. "Can't we start over?"

"I don't think so. I'm not going to let you take advantage of me again." Lea told him. "And I'm no one's second choice or back-up, so you can just get lost." She walked off the dance floor, leaving him alone.

Outside, Marina was sitting with Bonnie and Jeremy. "Do you want to dance or something while we're waiting?" Jeremy asked.

"No!" Bonnie said quickly. Marina noticed this. "I mean no thank you." Just then, Jeremy got a text telling him to get on with his part of the plan, leaving the girls alone.

"Why are you so afraid to follow your heart?" Marina asked as soon as he was gone.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked her.

"Bonnie, I could sense your heart beat faster around him." Marina said. "Why didn't you take him up on it?"

"He's Elena's brother." Bonnie explained. "Do you know how awkward it is when you see your best friend's sibling in a different way? Besides, I'm not a good dancer."

"Well, we may as well do something. It's not like there's anything we can do right now." Marina said. "Besides, it can't be that bad. Let's go."

"Fine." Bonnie got up and reluctantly followed Marina to the dance floor.

Elsewhere, Terra noticed Katherine talking with the woman. She couldn't hear them, but the woman seemed kind of angry. Just then, Jeremy showed up and the woman left. Terra took her chance and caught up to her. She grabbed her arm.

"Hey!"

"Sorry about that, but unlike my friend inside I feel like I know you." Terra said. "You're a witch, aren't you?"

"Yeah." The woman said. Terra released her arm. The woman sighed. "I never imagined I'd run into you here, though. It's been too long, Terra." The woman removed her mask.

"Lucy? I thought that was you!" Terra said, embracing her. "How'd you get involved in this mess?"

"Long story short, never make a deal with an evil vampire." Lucy said. "I had to learn it the hard way."

"So, she blackmailed you?"

"More like I owe her." Lucy told her. "We should go inside, I'll explain. Besides, we've got some catching up to do."

In the house, Vanessa was with Caroline. "I told you that would help."

"Thanks. Who knew you knew how to sew?"

"It's always been my favorite hobby." Vanessa told her. She noticed her looking over at Matt. Silently, she put her hand on her shoulder. Caroline looked at her and smiled. Just then, she got a text message.

"Do what you need to do. I'll keep an eye on him if you're worried." Vanessa said.

"Thanks." Caroline said. She headed out into the hallway. Vanessa headed in the direction Matt did and bumped into a guy.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I never look where I'm going." The guy told her. "So, you like Matt or something?"

"He's actually my friend's boyfriend." Vanessa told him. "You go to the same school?"

"Yeah, but I've never been into it, really." The guy said. "I'm Joe."

"Vanessa. I don't mean to be rude, but I kind of promised to keep him busy while my friend freshened up."

"No problem. I'll see you around school."

"See you, then." Vanessa said. She headed into the room she saw Matt go into. On her way there, she couldn't help but think about Joe.

Outside, Marina was with Jeremy and Bonnie. Elena had shown up while Jer texted Caroline. "You guys are trying to kill her here?"

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it." Jeremy told her.

"Okay, stop with the "we", are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed."

"We know what we are doing, Elena." Bonnie said.

"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me?"

"It's not just you anymore, Elena. She's messed with all of us, she has to be stopped." Jeremy pointed out.

"That girl has crossed the line." Marina added. "I'm sick of her ruining your life." Suddenly, Elena screamed in pain. Marina noticed a mark on the back of her shirt.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked. Marina realized what was happening. She looked over at Bonnie and knew she knew, too.

"Jeremy, it's Katherine." Bonnie said. "She's linked to Katherine, get them to stop! Now!"

"And hurry!" Marina yelled as he took off inside. She stayed out with Elena and Bonnie. A few seconds later, another mark appeared across Elena's hand. She screamed in pain.

"We've got to do something." Marina said.

"I can't break the spell." Bonnie pointed out. "Maybe I can try to take some of the pain away."

"I'll try healing her." Marina told her. "I don't know if it'll work if they're linked, but it's worth a try." Bonnie used a spell to remove the pain. Marina was holding onto Elena, using her powers to heal her injuries. However, she couldn't remove the blood from her clothes.

Jeremy returned a few minutes later. Lea arrived after him. "Are you okay?" He asked Elena.

"Are they?"

"They're stuck in there with her." Jeremy said.

"This can't go well." Marina said.

"I heard about what that bitch did. I ran into him upstairs and wanted to see how you were." Lea told them.

"You were right; Katherine had a witch that linked Elena to her." Jeremy told Bonnie.

"The girl I saw, the one inside!" Bonnie realized. Marina looked at her and nodded. She headed toward the mansion.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked.

"There's another witch here, I'm gonna find her!" Bonnie told him as she left.

Jeremy started to take off his ring. "That isn't necessary. Most of her injuries have been healed." Marina told him.

"I thought Bonnie couldn't do those kinds of spells."

"Bonnie isn't the only witch that's on your side here." Jeremy looked at her, then turned to Elena. She nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"They kinda just moved here." Elena explained. "I guess I got so distracted with everything and forgot to mention it."

Downstairs, Lucy and Terra were still talking. "I still can't believe this." Terra said. "I don't know what scares me more, what Katherine made you do or that they could possibly kill our friend."

"I doubt that. If they care about her, chances are that the others here have figured it out." Terra looked around.

"Bonnie. She's looking for you." Terra said. "Come on."

Bonnie found them in the dining room. "Looking for me?" Lucy asked.

"Who are you?" Bonnie asked.

"Lucy."

"What are you doing here?"

"I should have known I'd run into a Bennett."

"How do you know me?" Bonnie asked.

"You'll figure it out. Maybe she'll help." She glanced over at Terra. "Look, I have no interest in fighting you."

"Then stop the spell you put on my friend." Bonnie told her.

"Give Katherine the moonstone and I will." Lucy said.

"What are you doing?" Terra asked. Then she remembered-Lucy was still stuck in this mess just as much as they were.

"Why are you helping Katherine?"

"Tell your friends to hand over the moonstone and all will be groovy."

"You're not leaving this room until you stop the spell!" Bonnie said.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Enough! Both of you!" Terra ran in between them. "We're all witches here, can't we work together?"

"Look, I don't have a choice. The bitch saved my life and now I owe her. I have to pay up." Lucy explained. She went around them, but Bonnie grabbed her wrist. "You have the moonstone. I can sense it on you."

"Lucy…" Terra realized what was happening. Lucy held Bonnie's forearms. She felt the power flow through the room.

"Do you feel that? You can trust me." Lucy told her. "Give it to me, it's okay." Bonnie seemed hesitant.

"Bonnie, it's okay. You can trust her."

"How do you know that?"

"She's the one who taught me everything." Terra told her. "Lucy's a friend of mine."

Reluctantly, Bonnie handed it over. Lucy headed upstairs, but not before putting a spell on it. "Don't worry, she's smart and she knows how to get out of this kind of mess." Terra told her. "She also just put a spell on it to incapacitate Katherine."

"We better go check on Elena." Bonnie said.

In the lounge, Vanessa was with the guys. "Come on, man. Cut it out." Tyler said. She noticed how off Matt was. She couldn't tell if he was drunk, under compulsion, or both.

"Seriously, I think we should go now." Vanessa told him.

"No, I'm good here."

"I mean it, Matt." Vanessa tried grabbing his arm. Suddenly, she was on the ground. "Hey, this is a new dress!"

"Back off, will you?" Tyler asked. It wasn't long before the guys started fighting. Caroline showed up to see Vanessa trying to break the guys up and trying to get Matt out of there.

"Guys, knock it off!" Vanessa was yelling.

"Oh, god!" Caroline ran into the fray. "What's going on here?"

"He's under compulsion." Vanessa said quietly enough for only Care to hear. Somehow, the next thing she knew, she was trying to push the guys away from each other again. Caroline knocked Matt out. Vanessa stared at her.

"Well, that should buy some time." Caroline said. Then she saw the other girl coming at Tyler with a letter opener. "Tyler, look out!" The girls watched helplessly as the girl fell to the ground, dead.

"Oh, no. This can't be happening." Caroline checked the girl for a pulse and found nothing.

"Maybe I can try to help her." Vanessa said.

"It's too late." Caroline pointed out. "Either way, it won't…Tyler, you okay?" He looked at her for a second. His eyes glowed briefly. Care turned to Vanessa, who headed into the hallway.

On the steps of the mansion, Lucy was speaking with Terra. "Thank you for helping us." Terra said. "You're awesome."

"Just keep doing what you do best, Terra." Lucy said. "I should get out of here. Hopefully that bitch won't cross me again." She started to leave, but Bonnie followed after her.

"Please, wait." Bonnie called. Lucy turned around.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that spell. Damn vampires, they put you in the middle of it every time."

"Though some of us don't mind." Terra said. "It was nice seeing you again."

"How do I know you? When I gave you the stone, how did I know I could trust you?" Bonnie asked.

"That feeling you got, have you ever felt it before?"

"around family. My grams." Then Bonnie realized something else. "And around Terra."

"My mother is Johanna, first cousin twice remove from Pauline, niece of Sheila aka..."

"Grams? We are related?"

"Yeah, we kind of are." Lucy said.

"Whoa, Sheila's you're grandmother?" Terra asked.

"How do you know about…"

"Emily had a cousin, Nicole, who was also an Earth-based witch." Terra explained. "Our families are connected, Bon. The whole tree's listed in my family's journal."

"It was nice to meet you Bonnie. Seeing you tonight was a wakeup call for me." Lucy told her. "I've got to stop letting vampires control me. So thank you for that." She started walking away. Bonnie went after her again.

"Please, don't leave! I have so many questions. I don't want to be in the middle either. I hate it. How do I stay out of it?"

"Unlike me, you're one of the good ones, Bonnie. The middle of it is exactly where you need to be." Lucy told her. "You take care cuz'. Don't worry, you'll see me again." She turned to go. "And Terra, keep helping her when you can." Terra nodded.

"Hey, I have to go, too. The other girls are probably going to want to me to report back to them." Terra said. "It's part of a pact we made."

"Go for it. I'll be okay." Bonnie told her. Just then, Jeremy came over.

At home, the girls were relaxing. "Well, Damon threw her into the tomb." Lea told them. "At least she won't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

"Yeah, hopefully it's the end of her antagonzing us. That bitch forced my mentor to help her." Terra said.

"At least you got her on track again." Marina pointed out. "Though I'm worried about the others. I have a very bad feeling that this isn't over yet."


	7. Disappearence

At school, Vanessa and Caroline ran into Tyler on their way to class. "Hey, Tyler." Caroline said.

"I can't believe this happened."

"It's really awful." Vanessa said.

"Why'd you cover for me?" Tyler asked Caroline.

"Cause I felt bad about what happened." Caroline told her. "We both did. Besides, I know how hard it is when one of your friends…you know."

"We're going to be late for class." Vanessa pointed out.

"I'll see you around." Caroline told him. The girls hurried down the hall. Suddenly, Vanessa felt a distress call from the others.

"I have to go. I'll meet up with you later." Vanessa told her. She followed the direction it was coming from.

"Vanessa?"

"Joe, hey. Sorry I didn't see you there." Vanessa said.

"Well, you look like you're in a hurry to get to class."

"I am. There's this big project I have due, so I'll see you later." She ran down the hall.

In the hallway, Marina was with Stefan when Jeremy came over. "Jeremy, what's up?" She asked.

"Look, Elena's got to let me know if I'm supposed to cover for her. Jenna's cool with the two of you but you guys are pushing it." He told Stefan.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"You and Elena. Look, I'm glad you guys are back together but if she's gonna sleep over…"

"Wait, wait… hold on a minute. We're not back together." Stefan told him.

"Wait… she didn't stay at your place last night?" At that moment, Marina knew that something was very, very wrong here.

"No, I mean I saw her at the party but that was it. She didn't sleep over."

"Cause her bed hadn't been slept in and Mrs. Lockwood said that her car was still in the driveway. Where is she then?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, but this is bad. I'm calling an emergency meeting." Marina told them. "Meet up with us later."

The girls met up in the cafeteria. "Where's Lea?" Marina asked, noticing her absence.

"She ran into Stefan outside, said it looked important." Terra told them. "He called Damon, so something must be up."

"Elena didn't come home last night and no one's seen her since the party." Marina explained.

"That can't be good." Vanessa said. "Are you sure it's not a false alarm? Try calling her."

"Guess it couldn't hurt." Marina said.

Outside, Lea was with the guys. "This has Katherine right all over it." Stefan was saying.

"Katherine's in the tomb." Damon pointed out. "Trust me, I'm the one who shut her in."

"Did you?"

"Did I what, Stefan?"

"Well, I know the hold that Katherine has on you"

"Hey, I can vouch for him. I was there when he locked her in." Lea told him.

"She did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying." Damon admitted. He and Lea looked to each other.

"I completely forgot about that."

"what did she say?" Stefan asked.

"Elena's in danger."

"What? And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?"

"Everything she says is a lie. How am I supposed to know she would start spitting out the truth?" Damon pointed out.

"We have to go talk to her." Stefan said.

"Are you insane?" Lea asked.

"No, no. Let me tell you how that's gonna go: We're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which would be enough and she's gonna get out and kill us! This is exactly what she wants!"

"I don't really care."

"This has bad idea written all over it. You need to really think about this one, Stefan." Lea told him.

"It's Elena." He pointed out. He headed into the school.

"I need to meet the other girls." Lea told Damon. "Emergency meeting, though I think I know what it's about now. See you."

Back with the other girls, the group waited. "She's not picking up." Marina said. "I'm worried about her."

"Guys, we have to do something." Lea said, bursting in. "Stefan wants to see Katherine about this mess." Suddenly, Vanessa's phone rang.

"Care? What's wrong?"

"I think Tyler's onto us." Caroline told her. "I might need some help."

"I'll try to help as much as I can. Even if I'm not there, I…" Vanessa cut off, because explaining it was confusing. "Look, I can help you, but you need to trust me."

"It's weird. I can feel she's okay, but I also get the feeling she's not alone, wherever she is." Terra said. "I can't do this alone."

"Come on, we'll go find Bonnie. Maybe she can help." Marina told them. The girls got up and headed into the hallway.

It didn't take them long to find Bonnie. She was talking with Stefan. "Damon's right. She's not gonna tell you anything, not without something in return." She was telling him.

"I know, but Bonnie, I have to do something." Stefan said. "I have no idea who has Elena, I have no idea where she is."

"Guess we showed up just in time, then." Marina said, holding his hand for a second.

"What if there was another way to find her?" Bonnie asked.

"We were just about to suggest the same thing." Terra told her.

The group gathered in the history classroom. "How does this work?" Jeremy asked.

"I'll use your blood to draw the energy for the tracking spell." Bonnie explained. "You're blood related, it'll make the connection stronger."

"Alright, Alaric said we've got to clear out of here within 10 minutes." Stefan told them.

"Are you ready?" Bonnie asked Jeremy.

"We'll help with the spell." Lea told him. Jeremy's blood fell onto the map. The girls focused on finding Elena. The blood moved toward her location.

"There. She's there." Bonnie said.

"That's 300 miles away." Jeremy pointed out.

"No, we need a more exact location than that." Stefan explained.

"That's the closest I can get."

"I got her." Terra said. Everyone turned to face her. "She's at some old house, I think."

"We can map it, area view will show us what's around there, help us bound the area." Jeremy said.

"Perfect. Call me with whatever you find."

"No, no, I'm coming with you."

"No Jeremy, you're not."

"No, I'm gonna just sit here. What if she's hurt okay? Or worse?" Jeremy pointed out.

"She's okay." Terra said. "I'd be able to sense if she were dead or hurt, Jer."

"She's a little scared, though." Marina added. The others turned to her. There was no way she could possibly know that.

"How do you know that?" Bonnie asked.

"Marina, tell me you didn't…"

"You two go back to your house just in case. I'll call you the minute I find her." Stefan told them.

"But you can't do this alone." Jeremy pointed out.

"He's not." They all turned to find Damon in the doorway. "Let's go."

"You're coming with me?"

"It's Elena."

"Maybe I should go with in case they start fighting." Marina said.

"No, we should just trust that they know what they're doing. Besides, whoever's after her might be stronger than a normal vampire." Terra told her.

"Well, technically, we're stronger than normal witches." Vanessa pointed out.

"Yeah, unless our power fizzes out or if we're not in connected as a group." Terra shot back.

"Right. I keep forgetting about that one time."

"Well, we should go before someone wonders what we're doing here after school's ended." Marina pointed out.

Outside, Vanessa saw Caroline talking to Tyler. He grabbed her arm. She broke free and flung him to the ground. Vanessa ran over to her. "Are you okay?" Caroline nodded.

"You're stronger than me?"

"That was nothing." Caroline said.

"Listen, if you know something you've got to tell me because I can't handle this." Tyler told her. Vanessa almost felt bad for him.

"I'm sorry, Tyler but I think that you're still in shock over Sarah dying and it's understandable." Caroline said. Vanessa gave her a look that said, "Really, that's your excuse?" Tyler nearly knocked a trash can into a car. Vanessa used her powers to make sure no one saw what happened. Leaves blew around in the wind as she helped Caroline get away.

"I have to go now. But I'll check in on you with my powers. You'll know if I am." Vanessa told her.

"Thanks for the cover-up." Caroline told her. "See you."

The girls were up in Jeremy's room. "I pulled this up based on that spell on the map." He showed Bonnie his phone. There was a house on it.

"It looks about right." Terra said. "Hard to tell though, considering she's probably inside."

"There's nothing around for miles except that house." Jeremy said.

"Did you send it to Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah. I hate sitting here, waiting like this." Jeremy admitted.

"It's tough for all of us, Jeremy." Marina pointed out.

"You always were an extreme empath." Lea said.

"Not my fault it comes with having water powers." Marina shot back.

"Hey, she's gonna be fine." Bonnie said, breaking up the argument.

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't." Bonnie got the grimore out of her bag.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked.

"There's something else I want to try." She found the spell she was looking for. "I need a candle. Grab Elena's hairbrush." Jeremy went to get the supplies. Bonnie wrote a note and ripped the sheet out of her notebook.

"What's all this stuff for?"

"I know it's crazy but I might be able to get her a message." Bonnie told him. Lea used her power to light the candle. Bonnie cast the spell, burning the paper. A small stream of blood trickled from her nose.

"I have an idea." Terra said. "We can try to reach Elena."

"You think it'll work?"

"If we all work together. Besides, we've practiced." Terra pointed out. The girls gathered on the side of the room and joined hands. They focused on trying to reach Elena.

Elena was still in the house, wondering why she was there. She was about to talk with one of her captors, when she heard a voice. "Elena." She looked around. The others didn't hear it. Then she remembered Terra's ability.

"Terra, is that you?" She thought.

"Hang in there. Bonnie's trying to send a message." That was all she got before the connection broke.

"That's it." Terra said. "Even combined, we can't hold it long."

"It'll just take a little more practice." Lea pointed out. "It's only, like, the third time we've tried using that one all together."

"Well, I could use a break from all this magic." Vanessa said. She sat down on a beanbag chair.

"Bonnie!" The girls turned to Jeremy. Bonnie had passed out on the bed.

"It's okay." Marina said. "She just used a lot of magic. It happens when witches push themselves sometimes. She must still be a new at this."

"So, how's Caroline?" Lea asked.

"She thinks that Tyler might be onto her secret." Vanessa said. "I had to help cover for her a few times, but I don't know how much longer it'll last."

"That's not good."

"Do you think Damon's right? About not being friends with Tyler?"

"Well, it's not really up to us to make Caroline's decisions." Lea pointed out. "Besides, even though it's probably a risky move, she could probably handle herself."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Vanessa said. Marina checked on Bonnie.

"Would a healing spell work for this?" She asked Terra.

"I don't know. All I know is she'll recover with some rest. The same thing happened to me when I practiced using a nature spell once."

A few hours later, Bonnie opened her eyes. The others were with her. Jeremy handed her a glass of water. "Here, drink this."

"Thanks"

"What happened? You scared the hell out of me." Jeremy told her.

"it's nothing."

"it wasn't nothing, Bonnie."

"We know you're lying, Bon." Terra told her. "It's happened to us before, too, you know."

"I've been doing a lot of magic lately. It wares me down." Bonnie admitted.

"When I'm worn down, I take a nap. You were… you were unconscious." Jeremy pointed out.

"Witchcraft has its limits. If I push too hard, it pushes back." She explained. "It's like a reminder that I'm not invincible. Please don't… don't tell anyone."

"why not?" Jeremy asked.

"Because it's a weakness and I don't want certain people to know that."

"By certain people, you mean Damon?" Jeremy asked.

"I mean anyone that can hurt me." Bonnie corrected.

"I won't tell anyone, okay? I promise."

"It's hard you know? My gram is gone and my dad, he doesn't want to know about what I am. He hasn't since my mom left. I'm all alone in this." Bonnie told them.

"That's how I feel a lot of the time, alone." Jeremy said.

"That's not true. You've got us, Bonnie." Marina pointed out.

"Yeah, and we know how hard it is with family." Terra added. "My parents are divorced, too."

"I don't even see my parents these days." Lea said. "I spent a few years travelling with them, then left when I ran into these girls."

"Our parents still live here, right?" Vanessa asked. Marina nodded. "Well, technically, I moved back here. Our parents moved to Richmond for a promotion after I was born. When they changed jobs, we moved back here."

"Whoa, so then how come you all live in the same place?" Bonnie asked.

"It was more like a case of us all meeting up in the same house." Marina explained. "It was as though something led us here and brought us back as a group. Does that sound weird?"

"No, it makes sense." Bonnie said. "Besides, I've learned to believe in the impossible."

A few hours later, Bonnie was asleep. Vanessa and Lea were reading magazines. Marina was listening to her iPod, and Terra was watching over Bonnie. Then she felt Elena nearby. "She's okay." She said. The rest of the girls looked at her. "They did it. They saved her." Just then the front door downstairs opened.

"Elena?" Jeremy headed downstairs. Bonnie woke up. She rushed downstairs. The rest of the group followed to find her with Jeremy. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." She told him. Bonnie embraced her. "I got your message." She looked up to find the rest of the girls. "Thanks for trying to reach me."

"It was nothing." Terra said.

"Come on. Let's let them celebrate her return." Marina told them. The girls left and headed back to their place.

"You know, he helped with her rescue." Vanessa pointed out. "Maybe you should thank him."

"Give it a rest, Nessa." Lea said. "Maybe someday I will. But right now, I'm just way too tired."

"We all are, it's been a long day." Terra pointed out.

"I forgot to call Caroline." Vanessa realized.

"I'm sure it's fine, Vanessa." Marina said. "So what if he learns her secret? That doesn't mean she'll tell him about the others."

"She's got a point." Lea said. "Besides, Tomorrow's a school day. We better get some rest."


	8. New Allies, New Problems

At school, the girls were walking. "Hey, did any of you get a text from Damon, too?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, he mentioned something about a really old vampire and the possibility of trouble." Marina said.

"Do you think he means the Originals?" Terra asked them.

"Oh, God. I hope not." Lea said. They met up with Bonnie and Jeremy.

"Where's Elena?"

"She's running late today." Jeremy said. "What are you doing later? You want to hang out at the grill, shoot some pool?"

"Well, you never asked me to play pool before so why now?" Bonnie asked.

"Uh, I don't know, I thought it'd be fun, never mind."

"No, hey, okay. Sure. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"It's just you're Elena's brother and… sure. It's just I'm really bad at pool." Bonnie told him.

"Yeah, I thought you might be." Jeremy said.

"You know, Nessa and I can give you a few pointers." Lea said.

"Yeah, maybe we could do a practice round." Vanessa said.

"That sounds awesome, but I am really bad at this." Bonnie told them.

A guy ran over to them. "Excuse me! Do you guys know which way is the office?" He asked them. The girls looked at each other. They'd been there once, but had couldn't remember. Luckily, Jeremy stepped in.

"Yeah, through the double doors then straight ahead then quick left and then your first right. You must be new here."

"Yeah, I am. It's kind of hard to hide it. My name's Luka."

"We're new at this school, too." Marina said. "I'm Marina. This is Terra, Lea, and Vanessa."

"I'm Jeremy, this is Bonnie."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Luka told them. He and Bonnie looked at each other. The girls looked at each other, all getting the same feeling.

"Anyway, Luka. I'm actually heading to that direction. Why you don't follow me? It can get confusing."

"Thanks man. It's nice to meet you Bonnie." Luka told her as he and Jeremy headed inside.

"Did you feel that?" Lea asked the rest of her group.

"Yeah, he's totally a warlock." Marina said.

"We don't know that for sure." Vanessa said.

"Then you keep an eye on him."

"I can't. I'm meeting Joe at the Grill later. He's helping me study for a test." Vanessa told them.

"It's fine. We'll figure this out." Terra said.

A few hours later, Marina and Lea were at the Boarding House. "Hey, we got your message." Lea said. "Thanks for coming with me, Marina."

"Well, I figured it was no big deal if we ditched this once." Marina said.

"I never thought a bookworm like you would say that." Damon said, meeting them.

"What rock are you living under? Terra's the bookworm. While I study a lot, I'm more of a practitioner." Marina said.

"Who is this?" A new voice asked. They noticed a girl had entered the room.

"Who are you?" Lea countered.

"This is Rose. She thinks she knows something about the Originals who want Elena." Damon explained.

"You two are friends with her, aren't you? I'm sorry about the other day."

"Wait, you kidnapped her?" Marina asked.

"I regret it." Rose told them. "I want to help with this mess, but if he ever gets her…"

"Who?" Lea asked. "Who's after her?"

"Some guy named Klaus." Damon said. "He's supposedly the oldest vampire ever created."

"He's real, I've seen him." Rose pointed out. "And he's an Original. He wants to break the curse and for that to happen…"

"Elena has to die." Marina said. "I figured there was a reason you went after her, that's it, isn't it?"

"You're smarter than you look." Rose said to her.

"She said she knew someone who might be able to help us." Damon told the girls.

"Are you sure we can trust her?" Lea asked.

"No, but for the record, she's the only lead we've got."

"You know, I'm standing right here." Rose pointed out.

"Let's go, then." Marina said.

A few minutes later, they parked in an underground parking lot. "I thought most vampires had those daylight rings." Lea said as she got out of the car.

"Not all of us." Rose told them as they got out. "Most of my friends don't."

"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?" Damon asked her.

"I called him. He's here. He's always here." She told him.

"Good_._" Suddenly, Damon pushed her against a wall. "Just one thing. If you're setting me up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. It's something I'm very good at." Rose pushed him off and shoved him against the car.

"I'm older than you and stronger. Don't get on my bad side." She warned him.

"Don't get on ours." Lea said. She and Marina had taken positions in case they had to do a spell. Rose let go of Damon.

"You can trust me." She told them. They followed her into the coffee shop.

"This place is nice." Marina said.

"What about the sunlight?" Damon asked.

"Double painted and temped. UV rays can't penetrate." Rose explained. "You see the appeal now?"

_"_That and the free Wi-Fi." A guy sitting nearby them said.

"Hey, how are you?" Rose asked him.

"Good. I saw you come, what are you doing here?" Slater asked her.

"It's a long story," Rose told him. "but I want you to meet…" He looked at Damon.

"Damon Salvatore. Turned 1864 in Mystic Falls by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova." Slater said. "So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?"

"Yes. It was right. Thank you for the tip." Rose told him.

"She knew about the tomb?" Lea asked.

"First I heard of it." Damon said. Slater looked over at the girls.

"Who are your friends?"

"This is Marina and Lea. They're witches." Damon told him.

"I take it you're Vanessa's friends."

"You knew Vanessa?" Marina asked.

"Small world." He looked back at Damon. "It's nice to meet you, maybe. What's going on Rose? Where is Trevor?"

At the Grill, Vanessa was studying with Joe. "Okay, let's see. What you want to do is add the powers of the two numbers."

"I don't get it. Aren't you supposed to multiply them?" Joe asked.

"It doesn't work like that. Believe me, I was confused at first, too." Vanessa said.

"You're tutoring in math?" She turned around. Terra was nearby. "No offense, but it's not your strong point."

"What are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on the new guy." Terra told her. "And looking out for my friend, something you're not doing."

"You knew I had a study date here." Vanessa pointed out.

"Okay. I'm going to order some coffee." Joe said, getting up and leaving them.

"Is something wrong?" Bonnie asked them.

"No, everything's just fine." Vanessa said. The girls walked over by Luka's table.

"Hey Bonnie."

"Hey, Luka. How was your first day?" Bonnie asked.

"It was great. I would like to introduce you to my dad."

"Hi, I'm Bonnie Bennett. These are my friends, Terra and Vanessa."

"Doctor Martin, Jonas Martin. It's nice to meet you Bonnie Bennett. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, I'm meeting a friend but he's not here yet so… sure."

"Oh yes, please have a seat." Bonnie sat with them.

"Actually, I've got a tutoring appointment, so I have to get back." Vanessa told them. "Sorry."

"Another time then." Dr. Martin told her. Vanessa left the group. Terra sat down next to Bonnie.

"So, where did you move from?" Bonnie asked.

"Louisiana."

"That's a big change."

"I'll say."

"It's not so bad here."

"It's definitely better than when I lived in Illinois for a few years." Terra said.

"It's looking up." Luka agreed.

"Bennett, uh? I knew some Bennett's when I did my residency in Massachusetts. Do you have any family from Salem?" Dr. Martin asked.

"Actually I do." Bonnie said.

"What do you know? Small world, right?"

"Oh, there's my friend. It was nice to meet you, Doctor Martin." Bonnie said.

"I will see you at school."

"Yeah."

"So, where are you from?"

"Here, I guess." Terra said. "I remember living here before taking a couple years off, I got back two years ago. Still readjusting." She looked around for an out. "I have to go. I'll see you around." She headed toward the door, when she saw Caroline arguing with Stefan.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked. Terra walked over to them.

"I'd believe your whole innocent act a little bit better if I didn't know how good you are at providing a distraction on demand." Stefan pointed out. "Where is Elena?"

"I can't tell you." She said.

"You can't tell me? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry but I… I can't tell you."

"She's telling the truth." Terra said. "She promised she wouldn't. It'd be like my friends and I if we ever went back on one of our promises."

"Elena was kidnapped, she could have been killed and you're seriously not gonna tell me where she is?" Stefan pointed out.

"She's not in any danger. I would not have let her put herself in danger." Caroline told them.

"Put herself in danger where? What do you…? She's with Damon isn't she?"

"Ew, no."

"Then where… where is she? Listen, if you're my friend like you've been pretending to be all day, then you'll tell me where she is."

"Stefan, I am your friend but I'm also Elena's friend and I'm sorry but I'm not going to tell you where she is." He got up to go. Terra followed him.

"I can help you find her." Terra said. "I think I have a good idea where she might be."

"So do I. I just hope we're wrong." He told her as they left.

"Is there anything we can do to prevent this?" Marina asked.

"Not that I know of." Slater told them.

"Well, is there any way to make it so that they can't break the curse?"

"It'll take some time, but I think I read something somewhere. I'll look it up." Suddenly, the window in the coffee house shattered. Everyone panicked and ran out.

"Wait, where's Rose?" Marina asked. Lea looked behind them to find Rose burning from the sunlight.

"Come on, we better help!" The girls and Damon managed to get her back to the car safely.

"Are you okay?" Marina asked.

"I just got exposed to sunlight. What do you think?" She pointed out.

"Well, at least you're healing fast." Lea said. The worst of it seemed to have faded.

"Let's get out of here. No offense, but I've had enough action for one day." Marina said.

"I'm with her on this one." Lea said.

"Same here. Let's go." Damon told them. They got back into the car and headed home.

Vanessa went over to Luka and Bonnie. "Hey Bonnie. I'm sorry about earlier, my dad is not very subtle with the whole Bennett/Salem question." He explained. "He picked up on you, he was just fishing around, he didn't mean any harm."

"I felt something too." Bonnie told him.

"And the girls and I picked up on something when we met at school." Vanessa added.

"I know. That's why we're having this conversation right now." Luka told them. "My dad doesn't like anyone to know. But we were both worry that you would bail us." He put his hand above some salt he put on the table. It flew up and followed him like a magnet. "He just wants us to fit in here for once. It's tough Bonnie, being different."

"You're a witch?" Bonnie asked.

"We prefer the term warlock." Luka corrected.

"I had a feeling you were." Vanessa said. "I'll see you around, Luka." She headed back to her table.

"Hey, what was all that about?" Joe asked.

"Oh, just helping my friend with the new guy." Vanessa told him. "So, where were we?"

At the tomb, Elena was still there when Stefan and Terra showed up. "Elena."

"Stefan, what are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Caroline told you."

"No, she kept your secret but it didn't take long for me to figure out what was the important that you'd have to keep it from me."

"I helped him track you down." Terra admitted. "I'm sorry, but you had no idea how worried he was about you."

"I knew that he'd stop me." Elena pointed out.

"Listen to me, whatever she said to you is a lie. Do not listen to her. She's a liar, Elena."

"What if she isn't? You didn't hear what she said."

"I'm taking Lena's word for it." Terra told them. "We don't know unless…

"You don't have to worry, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"That's the problem, you won't but you'll die trying. How's that any better?" Elena pointed out.

"There's nothing you can do, Stefan." The group turned around and saw Katherine. "I haven't even told you the best part of the story. Once I returned, I found everyone in my house dead. He killed them, my entire family just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your friends, your family and anyone that you've ever loved." Terra gasped.

"No, look at me. No, do not listen to her, okay?" Stefan told Elena.

"Always the protector but you must realize that she's doomed. There's nothing you can do to stop it unless of course you have this." She held up the moonstone.

"What?"

"Are you kidding me?" Terra asked. "That thing is nothing but trouble."

"You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you?" Stefan asked her.

"I didn't spin anything, Stefan. It's the truth." Katherine told him.

"No, let me guess. You want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, psychotic bitch."

"Stefan." Terra said. "Her story, she wasn't lying. She really was telling the truth."

"How do you know?"

"My friends and I can always tell if someone's lying." Terra told them.

"My freedom? That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom because when Klaus shows up to kill us all and he will, I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town." Katherine pointed out. She headed back into the tomb.

"Are you okay, Elena?" Terra asked. Elena, not trusting her voice, just shook her head. "Okay, let's get out of this place. It's starting to give me the creeps."

"I thought you were the earth girl."

"Yeah, but the thought of being surrounded by a place for the dead…no offense…just gives me the chills." Terra said. "Especially if it's underground."

"Okay, it shouldn't be too far from here." Stefan told her. They left the tomb and headed outside. "I'm going to take Elena home. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, my place shouldn't be too far. Besides, I'm meeting with the girls anyway."

"…And that's his plan." Lea finished explaining the sacrifice to the Vanessa and Terra. Marina was with her, and helped her.

"From what I got, Katherine was planning to gather everyone for the sacrifice." Terra said. "We know Elena's the doppelganger, but it also requires others."

"That must be why she turned Caroline." Vanessa realized. "And tricked Tyler into activating his werewolf curse."

"But someone has to undo the curse. Someone with a lot of power." Marina pointed out. "And there's only one thing I know that fits that description-a witch. A normal witch."

"So that was her plan all along." Terra said. "Gather everyone together so that they could be killed in order to break the curse."

"What are we going to do?" Marina asked. "We can't just let either of them get away with it, but we also aren't strong enough to take on an Original vampire."

"We'll have to find a way." Vanessa said. "If we just keep practicing with our powers, we might be able to figure something out."

"I hope your right, Vanessa. Because this is looking really bad so far."


	9. A Spell Gone Wrong

At the school, the girls were with Bonnie and Luka. "So your grams waited you were in high school to tell you that you're a witch?"

"She brought it up before but I just thought she was drunk. In my defense, she was."

"Most often younger witches don't listen when they're told that the first time." Marina pointed out.

"Yeah, I just wish I'd taken it more seriously before she gave her life helping us." Bonnie told her.

"I'm sorry." Lea told her. "We didn't know."

"So then you're like new." Luka said.

"Newish. I still have some growing pains." Bonnie said.

"I'm still having problems with my powers sometimes, too."

"You just need to find a way to get around you're blind point, Marina." Terra pointed out.

"This whole town may as well be a blind spot, Terra. Most places we end up fighting at don't have much water around."

"Physically it's becoming a lot harder. I have a bad reaction to it sometimes." Bonnie explained to Luka.

"Your noise bleeds?"

"Yeah and I pass out sometimes."

"It's because you're trying to do too much on your own." Luka told her. "You need help."

"From what?"

"From nature, the elements. Just things you could draw your power from." Luka explained.

"Yeah, kinda like how our powers work." Lea told her.

"Have you ever channeled to another witch before?" Luka asked.

"What is that?"

"Say we put our energy together and we can double our strength." Luka explained. "I'll show you. Let me see that bracelet." She handed him her bracelet. He gave her his necklace. "I want you to stand very still and concentrate."

"I don't get it." Bonnie said. "What are we doing?"

"We're channeling. The personal items we activate as talisman." Luka explained. "Now concentrate." They both focused their powers at the same time. A strong wind blew through the area.

"Whoa." Bonnie opened her eyes.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"What's it like for you guys?"

"Well, it's similar to what you two just did, only our powers merge together through the elements we channel." Marina explained. "Basically, it's like channeling energy." Jeremy showed up.

"What's with that weather?" He asked them.

"It's global warming man." Luka told him. "I don't know. I got to go. See you later Bonnie."

"Bye Luka."

"Bye." He left.

"The guy is weird, huh?" Jeremy said.

"No, he's not." Bonnie said.

"Okay, so where's Vanessa…." Terra began. Bonnie's phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked.

"It's Damon."

"Seriously? On another school day?" Lea groaned. "How will we even graduate at the rate these emergencies keep coming up?"

At the Boarding House, Vanessa nearly ran into Elena. "Sorry. Are we supposed to be meeting here?"

"I just got here, actually. What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"Never mind. It's not important." Vanessa said. They entered the house.

"It's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morning." They were both surprised to see Rose dressed in nothing but a robe. She noticed them. "Sorry, I thought you were…" The girls looked away, clearly embarrassed. Then Vanessa turned back.

"Wait, Rose?"

"You know her?"

"I've heard of her from a friend." Vanessa said.

"I believe he mentioned you, too, Vanessa." Rose said. "There is no one else here."

"Actually I came to talk to you." Elena told her.

"Then I should probably get dressed." Rose headed back inside. The girls waited in the living room until she came back. Elena told her about what was going on.

"It's a bad idea." Rose told her.

"No, it's not. From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus." Elena said. "You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody blew up a coffee shop with us in it." Rose pointed out.

"You know Slater?" Vanessa asked.

"He's one of my closest friends." Rose told her.

"There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it." Elena pointed out.

"Why are you coming to me with this?" Rose asked.

"Because you owe me. One word from me and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."

"Wait, you kidnapped her?"

"I knew it was wrong, guess that's what happens when you try to make a deal with an Original." Rose told her. Vanessa just glared at her.

"We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

"They're just trying to protect you."

"And you've proven you couldn't care less whether I'm protected or not so we're back to you taking me to Slater." Elena told her.

"What exactly do you hope to achieve by this?"

"As far as I'm concerned, she's right. You owe her." Vanessa said. "And to make sure you don't try anything again, I'm coming too. Besides, I grew up in Richmond till my dad got that promotion here."

"How would you like to be able to walk during the daylight?" Elena asked Rose.

"I've been the slave to shadows for 500 years, what do you think?"

"I think I know a witch who's willing to do whatever it takes to help if you're willing to make a deal." Elena explained.

A few hours later, the rest of the group met up. "I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and grab the moonstone from Katherine." Bonnie told them.

"How?" Jeremy asked. "It took both you and your grams last time and look what happened to her."

"Jeremy!" Terra yelled.

"I'm aware of what happened. I've learned a few new things." Bonnie told him.

"Bonnie…"

"How will you get it?" Bonnie asked.

"She hasn't been feeding. She's weaker, we're not." Stefan pointed out.

"Okay, can we change the subject?" Lea asked. "No offense, but the topic of blood just grosses me out."

"I never pegged you for the squeamish type." Damon said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Lea shot back.

"You wouldn't be underestimating her, do you?" Bonnie asked Stefan.

"It's a plan. Is it perfect? What plan is?"

"Let me do it." Jeremy said. "I've got my ring, I could get in, get out and no spell necessary."

"Why didn't we think about that?" Damon asked, sarcastically. "Why are you even here?"

"Hey, it's his right to be concerned." Marina pointed out.

"Maybe I can help better the plan. Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?" Bonnie asked. Everyone turned to look at Stefan.

Meanwhile, the girls were at an apartment. Rose knocked on the door "Slater? Slater, it's Rose. Open up!" She turned to Elena and Vanessa. "He's not home, sorry."

"We didn't come all the way out of here for nothing." Elena pointed out.

"The door's locked from the inside, Elena. How will we get in?" Vanessa said. Rose opened the door with her powers. "Well, that's one way."

"After you two." The girls went into the apartment. "Slater?" Vanessa and Elena looked around.

"It's still as organized as I remember it."

"You've been here before?" Elena asked.

"He was my friend." Vanessa said. "Nothing romantic. I don't date vampires since our little witch team especially need to continue our bloodline."

"I don't think he's gonna be much help." Rose called to them. The girls appeared and found Slater's body.

"Oh my God!" Vanessa screamed. Rose put a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet, you want the whole building to hear you?" Elena looked around and found a lot of papers.

"Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information."

"Yeah, probably for helping people like us." Rose said. The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just beat him in the ass." She went to the window and opened the curtains.

"What are you…" Elena began.

"Tempered glass. UV rays can't penetrate." Rose explained. She glanced out the window "I used to just come here and watch the day."

"So you're the one who kept sneaking in here." Vanessa said. "We used to do study sessions in this room together."

"I'm sorry about Slater." Elena said.

"Any luck?" Rose asked.

Elena looked at the computer. "It's password protected, I can't get in."

"Maybe I can. I'm pretty good at hacking." Vanessa said. She punched some of the keys, but it still didn't work. "Guess I'm not as good as I thought."

"Then this is pointless, let's just go." Rose told them. They heard a sound. Rose found a girl by herself.

"Let me guess, another one of his girlfriends." Vanessa said. "He was such a player."

"And you were friends with him?" Elena asked.

"He helped me when things were rough at school. I didn't exactly fit in." Vanessa explained. "It's how we became friends in the first place. I was sitting alone when he walked over."

At the Boarding House, Stefan came back with a picture of Katherine. "This belonged to Katherine. I found it with her things after I thought she was dead but it was hers." He handed it to Bonnie.

"Why did you keep this after meeting Elena?" Marina asked.

"Does it really matter?" Terra said. "It'll be helpful, if she's planning what I think." Bonnie put the photo in a bowl. She did a spell on it and it started to burn.

"What is this?" Damon asked.

"I can turn the metal into ash, blew the ashes on her and it will incapacitate her for a minute or two." Bonnie explained. "Long enough for you to get the stone and get out."

"That's pretty cool. I've never seen anyone do that before." Lea said.

"Maybe that's because we need more than one person to do a spell like that ourselves." Terra reminded her. Bonnie put the ashes on the table.

"We should get the torches." Stefan pointed out. He and Marina left the room.

"Alaric's stakes are in my trunk. Bonnie?"

"Go ahead. I'm almost done." The rest of the group left the room, leaving Bonnie with Jeremy.

"Do you think she'll be able to break the spell?" Lea asked.

"I don't know if she'll be able to do it alone. We can help her, though." Terra pointed out.

Back in the apartment, Vanessa and Elena had convinced the girl to help them hack into Slater's computer. There were hundreds of files on vampires.

"These are all leads to vampires?" Elena asked.

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me." The girl told them.

"You're telling me. I had to read that Anne Rice novel just to shut him up." Vanessa said.

"What about that one, Cody Webber?" Rose asked "They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

"I could call him." The girl offered. Elena handed her the phone.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus," She told her. "the doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."

"What?!" Rose and Vanessa asked at the same time.

"I thought you looked familiar."

"Get him the message please." Elena said. She left the room. Rose and Vanessa followed her.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"I'm getting Klaus's attention." Elena told her.

"Are you insane?" Vanessa asked.

"If Klaus knows that you're alive, he'll find you and he'll kill you." Rose said. Elena just looked at them. "Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

"It's either me or my family." Elena pointed out.

"So all of this is a suicide mission so that you could sacrifice yourself and save everyone else?" Rose asked.

"Elena, you don't have to do this." Vanessa said.

"It's the only option I can see." Elena told her. "Besides, you'd do the same if it were the girls."

"This is different, Elena. He doesn't need us, in fact, the four of us could easily overpower him." Vanessa said. "Even if he is an Original." Elena left the room. Rose and Vanessa looked at each other.

In the forest, Bonnie met the rest of the group at the ruins. "So this is what looks like. I've always wondered." Marina said.

"Yeah, it's creepy enough without the tomb itself." Terra said.

"What are you, claustrophobic?" Damon asked.

"No, she just really hates being underground." Lea said. "Something you'd understand if you got trapped in a cellar for three days."

"Been there, done that."

"Sorry I'm late. I got the grimoire from home"

"Jeremy couldn't take the pressure, huh?"

"He said he'd be here." Bonnie said. The group headed into the tomb.

"We're right here with you, Terra." Marina told her. They walked inside. Once they were there, Lea helped them set up the torches. Terra noticed something on the ground.

"Lea, can you give us a little light over here?" She asked. Lea used her powers to light a torch near her. There was a white rock on the ground. Stefan went over to it as she picked it up.

"What the hell?"

"Is that the moonstone?" Bonnie asked. Terra backed away from the door.

"There's two people in there." She told them. Katherine showed up.

"I hate to interrupt but today have been full of surprises." She was holding Jeremy.

"Oh, no." Marina said.

"I'm sorry. I took some powder." He told them.

"Don't worry, I know that he's wearing his ring so no matter how many times I kill him, he'll just be coming back for more. So, I'm gonna be in the back playing with my new little toy and you guys just give me a howl when you got the tomb open."

"Let him go, you little bitch." Lea said. "You've done enough damage when it comes to guys."

"Are you just saying that because Damon used you and is clearly not over me?" Katherine asked her.

"Oh, that's it!" Terra and Marina had to hold Lea back.

"Lea, please." Marina said. "She's got five centuries on you and she plays dirty, remember?"

"She crossed the line."

"The best way to handle this is to not overreact." Terra told her. "I'm not letting go of you until you calm down."

Bonnie lit the rest of the torches. "Where the hell is Damon, anyway?" Stefan asked.

"Who cares?" Lea asked. "Maybe he decided to ditch us after all."

"We can't wait, we have to get him out of there." Bonnie pointed out.

"She's fed, she has her strength back." Stefan said.

"We still have what's left of the ash. Do you think you can get close enough?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't have a choice." Stefan said.

"What if one of us did it instead?" Marina suggested. "I mean, the barrier can't stop us and we have our powers to help."

"But she has Jeremy. Who's to say that we won't end up making things worse?" Terra pointed out.

"It's gonna take me some time." Bonnie said.

"How long?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know, a while."

"At least you've got back-up." Lea pointed out.

"Just get me in there as soon as you can."

Back in Slater's apartment, Elena and Vanessa were sitting together. Suddenly, Damon appeared. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked. Then she turned to Rose. "You called him?"

"I'm sorry, Elena."

"You said that you understood."

"She lied. Come on, we're leaving." Damon told her.

"No."

"Elena, come on. Let's just go." Vanessa said.

"I'm not going with you." Elena told them. "Vanessa, how could you do this? You know what this means."

"Yeah, and I don't want you to die." Vanessa said. "Part of our job is saving victims. You're no exception."

"You do not get to make decisions anymore." Damon told her.

"When have I ever made a decision?" Elena shot back. "You and Stefan do that for me but this, this is my decision."

"Whose gonna save your life while you're making decisions?"

"You're not listening to me, guys. I don't want to be saved." Elena told them. "Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love."

"You're reasons are noble, but the idea of going through with this is completely stupid!" Vanessa pointed out.

"Get your ass out the door before I through you over my shoulder and carry you out myself." Damon grabbed her arm. She tried to hit him, but he caught her arm. "Don't ever do that again."

"I had no idea what she was planning, I swear." Vanessa told him.

"I can tell that. But you should be careful, too." He told her. "Being naïve is what almost got her dead."

"How did you…right. I keep forgetting."

At the tomb, Bonnie was trying to use the spell to break the barrier. She had Luka's necklace. "You have to stop her! She's not strong enough." Jeremy called to the group.

"Maybe she is." Katherine said. Bonnie was starting to lose energy.

"Bonnie…" Stefan turned to her, concerned.

"Maybe she's not strong enough on her own, but she's got us." Terra pointed out. She, Marina, and Lea held onto her, channeling their powers to help. Bonnie became more stable as they helped with the spell. However, the barrier was still strong even with their help.

"Will this even work without Nessa's help?" Lea asked as the strain from using magic started getting to her.

"We've got to try, Lea." Marina pointed out.

"You need to stop, Bonnie!" The group continued to do the spell anyway. Suddenly, Bonnie collapsed, but the girls quickly caught her. "Bonnie!"

"She's still alive, don't worry." Terra told Stefan.

"Bonnie, please wake up."

"Yes, please, because I'm still in here!" Katherine told them.

"Oh, shut up, bitch." Lea yelled back, glaring at her. Bonnie woke up.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked.

"It didn't work. I'm not strong enough." She said. "Even with help I can't do it."

"That's too bad, I'm still hungry." Katherine grabbed Jeremy and tried to bite him, the girls were ready. Marina rushed in and threw some of the dust on her. Terra and Lea grabbed Jeremy and got him out. Marina turned to follow, but Katherine got up and slammed her against the wall. The next thing she knew, she was out of the tomb.

"Marina, are you okay?" Terra asked. Marina nodded and looked to see Stefan pinning Katherine against the tomb wall.

"Oh, no."

"Come on, let's get him out of here." Lea said. "We can try to help him later." The group left the tomb.

As soon as they got home, they all walked inside. Although Maria had healed Jeremy's injury, it still hurt, so he got an ice pack. "I'm home, okay? I don't need an escort to my room."

"I don't know. Between here and upstairs there's still time for you to do something stupid." Bonnie told him.

"I already feel bad. I don't need you to bread me."

"Stefan is stuck in there and I don't know how to get him out." Bonnie pointed out. "What should I be doing?"

"If that's anyone's fault, it's mine." Marina said. "I take full responsibility."

"Bonnie, calm down. When Vanessa gets back, we can try the spell again." Terra told her.

"You should admit that you never should have tried this in the first place." Jeremy said.

"I didn't have a choice, Jeremy!" Bonnie yelled at him.

"Yeah, neither did I"

"Why did you have to get involved?"

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Look Jeremy… you can't feel that way about me." Bonnie told him.

"Okay, I think we should go." Lea said.

"Wait, what about Elena? She's going to want to know what happened and it might be easier if one of us is here with him to tell her." Marina pointed out.

"I'll stay." Terra said. "I know the way back from here."

A few minutes later, Elena, Vanessa, and Damon showed up outside. The rest of the day had been weird. Not only was Elijah alive, but he'd taken out the other vampires and left them unharmed.

"Thank you for bringing me home." Elena told them.

"Well, you're ride left you." Damon pointed out. "I didn't want to leave you girls stranded."

"She was just scared. She didn't mean to run." Vanessa told him.

"Yes she did. She's been running for 500 years." Damon pointed out.

"I can't believe Elijah is alive. Why do you think he killed those two vampires and just let us go?" Elena asked.

"I don't know, but he scares me." Vanessa said.

"if I had a dollar for every time some evil vampire surprises me…" Damon began. Elena started to head inside, but he grabbed her arm. "What you did today was incredibly stupid."

"Actually the only thing that was stupid was that I got caught." Elena said.

"No, it was that you were stupid enough to think that sacrificing yourself would save everyone." Vanessa said. "There will always be other enemies, Elena. Dying isn't going to protect them."

"I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else try so hard to save me. You shouldn't question why i would try to save all of you." Elena told them. Suddenly, the door opened and Terra and Jeremy appeared.

"What is it?"

"It's Stefan." Jeremy told them.

"He's stuck in the tomb." Terra explained.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked them.

"Tried to do a spell, it didn't exactly work right."

"I'm sorry. I should've been there."

"It isn't your fault Vanessa. I'm just glad you helped Elena before she did something stupid." Terra told her.

"How did you…You read my mind?" Vanessa asked. "I thought we had an agreement on that."

"Well, I overheard you three arguing out there." Terra told her. "We should head home ourselves. We'll find a way to deal with them tomorrow."


	10. Protecting the Others

Vanessa and Marina were at Elena's early the next day. They had met with Bonnie. Right now, the girls were up in Elena's room. "Now that you've got this back, what are you gonna do with it?" Elena asked.

"Right now it's what is binding the sun and the moon curse. If I can figure out a way to remove the spell from the stone, the stone becomes useless." Bonnie explained.

"Don't look at me. I am done reading those old-school ritual binding spell books." Vanessa said. "I researched for three hours straight the other day."

"You and the rest of our little coven." Marina pointed out.

"Bonnie, can't this wait?" Elena asked. "Stefan is stuck in the tomb with Katherine. We've got to get him out."

"Stefan wants me to focus on this." Bonnie told her.

"Don't listen to him. He thinks that he's protecting me but he's wrong." Elena said.

"I'm taking Stefan's side with this one. We're not gonna let you get used in some creepy sacrifice ritual."

"Yeah, no vampire, Original or not, is going to get to you this time." Marina added. Jeremy showed up just then.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Jeremy asked.

"We're not arguing about anything." Bonnie said. She put the moonstone in her bag. "I need a coffee." She got up and left the room.

"Okay, that was weird." Vanessa said. Jeremy looked at his sister.

"What?"

"Why are you on some suicide mission?" Jeremy asked her.

"I'm trying to prevent everyone else from getting hurt."

"How's bringing Klaus the moonstone so you can get yourself killed okay?"

"I tried that argument already, Jeremy." Vanessa told him. "It didn't work."

"Seriously, you should leave this to us. Even an Original wouldn't be able to stand against four element-based witches." Marina told her. Jeremy left the room. Vanessa followed after him.

"I know you're worried about her. So am I."

"Her dying isn't going to save everyone." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know that. That's why I need you to believe me when I say that me and my friends will do everything to prevent that from happening." Vanessa told him. Marina was downstairs when she came back.

"He's taking it personally, isn't he?"

"Looks like it."

"She took the moonstone." They turned and saw Elena with Bonnie. Jeremy was upstairs.

"How did you...?"

"We tested you, and you failed." Bonnie explained.

"Klaus killed Katherine's entire family just because she crossed him. I can't let that happen." Elena told them. Bonnie stepped to the side. When Elena tried to leave, she couldn't get out.

"What did you do?" She asked them.

"It's for the best, Elena." Bonnie told her. She left the house.

"I swear, we had no idea about any of this." Marina explained. "This was all Bonnie."

"Just be glad you're only stuck in the house." Vanessa told her. "The rest of us had to trap Lea in the basement so she wouldn't go after Katherine again."

"Or worse, try to kill Damon when we weren't looking." Marina said. Vanessa started to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I made plans to meet Joe at the Grill." Vanessa told her. "I'll see you later."

A few hours later, Marina was in the living room with Elena. Damon came into the room. "You should really lock your door." He told her. "Oh, come on pouty. Just give me two points for ingenuity."

"Do you think this is funny?" Elena asked.

"Yes, Elena. I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to repeatedly save your life." He told her.

"Hey, I'm staying over here with her tonight." Marina pointed out. "In case anything happens, you know?"

"What does Stefan say about this?" Elena asked Damon.

"Pretty good laugh."

"And what did he say about Elijah still being alive?"

"Wait, he's alive?"

"Vanessa didn't tell you?" Elena asked.

"No. She didn't. But the others probably knew, too."

"Yeah, that... I didn't tell him."

"Why not?"

"Well _A_: he can't do anything about it, and _B_: what I just said." Jeremy walked into the living room.

"Where is Bonnie?"

"I thought she was meeting you." Jeremy said.

"No, she's on moonstone duty and I'm on Elena patrol." Damon told him.

"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?"

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she can handle this and why not? Because if she screws up he'll bite her and then I'll be rid of two of my problems."

"Hold on a second. Tonight is a full moon?" Elena asked.

"I completely forgot about that." Marina said.

"Yeah, but you were too absorb with all your suicidal tendencies to notice." Damon told her. His phone rang.

At the Grill, Terra was with Vanessa. "Hey, so how are things going with you two?"

"Great." Vanessa said. "I think he just asked me out."

"That's awesome." Terra looked around the room.

"What's up?"

Terra noticed a girl sitting at the bar. "That woman, over there." She told her. "She's a werewolf."

"Uh oh." Vanessa said. "Do you think she's part of Mason's pack?"

"I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on things." Terra said. Just then Vanessa got a text message.

"It's Rose. She's at the Boarding House." Vanessa said.

"I'll go." Terra said. "You stay here and deal with wolf girl." Vanessa nodded. Terra headed out the door.

Back at Elena's house, Marina was up in Elena's room. She heard someone running up the stairs and went into the hallway. She found Elena knocking on Jeremy's door. "Elena, what's…" She froze when she noticed Elijah in the house. Jeremy opened the door and he hid somewhere.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked.

"Jenna was just asking me to get you help her with the boxes." Elena told him.

"Okay."

"She invited him in?" Marina asked when he headed downstairs.

"Wouldn't be the first time something like this happened." Elena said. Marina got in front of her as Elijah came out of hiding.

"It's a wise choice." He told her.

"What do you want?" Elena asked.

"I think it's time you and I have a little chat."

"You're not talking to her without me around." Marina told him.

"Very well." The three of them headed to Elena's room.

Vanessa was with Damon at the Grill. "Hey, I heard about her."

"Yeah, so did I."

"Okay, how do we handle this?" Vanessa asked as Alaric joined them.

"Leave that to us."

"So I'm just supposed to watch?" Vanessa asked. "Are you forgetting the full moon's tonight?"

"It shouldn't take very long."

A couple hours later, the group was walking out of the Grill. "You were saying?" Vanessa asked.

"Okay, that wasn't one of our best ideas." Alaric told him.

"Seriously, threatening a werewolf on a full moon? Do you have a death wish?" Vanessa asked.

"Look, I get it, okay?"

"You're going to have to let this one go." Alaric said. "If the legend's true, one bite from her and you're dead."

"I am out of here. I so don't want to see this go down." Vanessa walked away from them, got in her car, and left.

Back in Elena's house, the group was up in Elena's room. "Forgive the intrusion." Elijah told her. "I mean your family no harm."

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?" Elena asked.

"Because I didn't want you to be taken. Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals but those who fear him are desperate for his approval." Elijah told them. "If the word gets out that the doppelganger exists there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can't have that."

"So, I'll protect her. Me and my sisters will." Marina said

"Isn't that exactly what you're trying to do?" Elena pointed out.

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

Marina and Elena looked at each other. "So what is your goal?" Marina asked.

"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle." Elijah told them.

"Like you?" Elena asked.

"Not anymore."

"You don't know where he is, do you?" Elena said. "So you're trying to use me to draw him out."

"Well, to do that I need you to stay put and stop trying to get yourself killed."

"That's why I'm here." Marina said. "To prevent that from happening."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Elena asked.

"If I wasn't being trustful, your family would be dead and I'd be taking you to Klaus right now."

"Right, I'd probably kill you before that would happen." Marina said.

"Instead, I'm here and I'm preparing to offer you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" Elena asked.

"Do nothing. Do nothing, live your life, stop fighting and then, when the time is right, you and I shall draw Klaus out and I will make sure your friends remain unharmed."

"And then what?"

"Then I kill him." Elijah told them.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I'm a man of my word, Elena. I make a deal, I keep a deal." Marina had a feeling he was hiding something from them.

"How are you gonna be able to keep everybody safe?" Elena asked.

"I notice you have a friend Bonnie, is it? She seems to possess the gift of magic. I have friends with similar gifts."

"You know witches."

"You know my friends and I are witches, too." Marina pointed out.

"I've known for some time now." He told her. "Together we can protect you and everybody that matters to you."

"Wait, I don't know about this." Marina said. "It feels too risky."

"I understand that some of you are able to revive others in case of accidents, am I correct?" Marina nodded. But how could he have possibly known that? "So do we have a deal?"

"I need you to do one more thing for me." Elena said. Marina looked at her, surprised she'd even think about it.

"You're negotiating now?" Elijah asked.

"Just hear her out, okay?" Marina told him.

At the Boarding House, Damon got home to find Rose and Terra waiting in the library. They were talking when they noticed him. "You just can't stay away, can you?" Damon asked.

"You don't answer your phone." Rose pointed out.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Just admit it, you don't have anywhere else to go." Damon said.

"I'm sorry about Elena. I wasn't thinking straight." Rose told him. I didn't know she had a death wish but I called you, I tried to make it right, okay? I'm sorry, Damon. And I have nowhere else to go."

"There's nothing for you here, Rose."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that." Terra said. "She really feels bad about the whole incident." Suddenly, there was a crash. The group headed into the living room to find a wolf. "Let me guess, it's a werewolf."

"How many other wolves do you know that would break a window?" Damon pointed out.

"None, that's why I think you two should run." Terra said. Suddenly, it was in front of them. Terra used her powers to push it back, but it didn't work. She gasped as it broke her hold on it and rushed toward the vampires. Rose pushed Damon out of the way as it jumped on her and bit her. Terra lifted a sword with her powers and handed it to Damon. He stabbed the wolf, causing it to run off in pain. Terra ran over to Rose.

"Rose."

"How bad is it?" Damon asked.

"It hurts." She told them.

"It's healing."

"Whoa."

"Oh my God, I thought a werewolf bite was fatal and I thought…"

Back at Elena's house, Marina was still in Elena's room. She was sitting on the bed, watching Elena. She was looking out the window. Suddenly, Marina turned around and saw Stefan. It didn't take long for Elena to notice, either. Marina headed into the hallway to give them some privacy.

At the Boarding House, Terra got off the phone with Vanessa and walked over to Damon. Rose joined them in the living room. "I talked to Caroline. She said Tyler was all locked up." He told them.

"So it was Jules." Rose said. "The other werewolf, the one who attacked you."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I picked a fight with her. She was coming after me."

"Well, provoking a werewolf was a stupid thing to do." Terra said. "Vanessa told me everything that happened."

"All's well that ends well." Rose said, trying to keep the peace.

"You're all healed?"

"Yeah. Seems that way." Terra wasn't so sure about that, though. She had a feeling this was trickier than they thought.

"I'm gonna stay and help you."

"Help me do what?"

"Save Elena, protect Elena, all things Elena."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I like you. I believe in friendship. I happen to have a vacancy in that department and you can use all the friends you can get."

"Well, he's got at least one of us backing him up." Terra said. She had a feeling about something. "Rose, let me see your back."

"What?"

"There's something I want to check." Terra placed her hand on Rose's back and tried to sense if there was something wrong. She could feel something was off, but didn't know what.

"What's up?"

"There's something…" Terra began. Suddenly, Rose touched her shoulder. Carefully, Damon removed part of her robe and saw that it was infected. "That's what I was afraid of. It wasn't fake." The group looked at each other. "I'm going to let the other know what happened." Terra headed into the hallway to call the rest of her friends. She hoped they'd be able to help.


	11. Searching for a Cure

The girls were in the Salvatore's library. Damon was talking with Rose. "I brought every book full of healing spells and research." Terra said.

"Hopefully we'll find something in here that will help." Vanessa said.

"I've healed several injuries, but a wolf bite is new." Marina said. "It might take a while."

"Come on, it's just a little werewolf bite." Damon was telling Rose.

"Just a little, fatal to a vampire werewolf bite." She pointed out.

"Well, according to a legend which is notoriously unreliable source."

"I'm sorry, but even you have to know that most legends are based on the truth." Terra said.

"Yeah, like us, for example." Lea pointed out.

"Okay, I've been wrong before." Damon said. He handed Rose a glass full of blood. "Come on, blood heals." Reluctantly, she drank it.

"Yeah, it does feel like it's working."

"Let's have a look, come on. Let me see." The girls came over to see how bad the injury was. They were surprised when they saw the mark, looking infected and bad.

Vanessa turned away, getting sick herself. "Easy, Vanessa." Marina said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, it's really bad." Terra thought to the girls.

"I'm sure we'll find something, especially now that we know what it looks like." She heard Lea thinking.

"How is it?" Rose asked. The girls decided not to answer. Luckily, Damon came to their rescue.

"Definitely better. Right, Elena?" They looked up and saw that Elena had entered the room. She was surprised at the injuries.

"Uh, it's not bad." She said.

"Where's Stefan?"

"He left. I need you to talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel but I think that's gonna upset Elijah."

"No can do. I'm with Stefan on this one but if you could play nurse for a little while…" Damon told her.

"It's not necessary." Rose told him.

"It is necessary. Elena is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist." The group minus Rose followed him out into the hallway.

"Damon. Is she gonna die?" Elena asked.

"Probably. The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse."

"Like poison?"

"I don't know, Elena. I'm not an expert in the field."

"Well, maybe there's something in one of our healing books that can cure it." Terra told them. "But there's no way to know for sure."

"I'm sorry."

"Death happens. We come, we go. Sooner she dies will better. It's gloomy as hell in here."

"We better stay here and help Lena out. If Rose is sick, then it may not turn out so well for either one of them." Marina said.

"Vanessa and I will start looking through the spell books." Terra said.

"Actually, we better have Lea look it up in my place." Vanessa said. "I think I'd rather not have another accidental house fire."

"Fine, you two switch places." Terra said. "We better get to work." She and Lea started going through the spell books. After a few minutes, they still had nothing.

"There's nothing in here." Lea said. "The closest thing we have is a cure for a skin condition."

"Well, we can't give up yet." Terra said. "We've still got like five more to get through."

"And I thought the only worse than helping Damon was helping another vampire."

"You're starting to sound like one of those witches, Lea. It's not in our nature to judge them." Terra pointed out. "Even if they have hurt us in the past."

"Please, I'm over it. What will it take for you to believe me?"

Upstairs, Marina and Vanessa helped Elena get Rose to Damon's room. "I hate this. I'm a vampire, I've never had a cold in five centuries." She told them.

"Just get in the bed." Elena told her.

"We don't get sick. When we die, it's fast and sudden and it's certainly not drawn out in illness."

"You're not gonna die." Elena told her.

"Such a human thing to say." Rose said.

"We're going to try everything we can to prevent that from happening." Marina told the vampire.

"Thanks, but I'm afraid there might not be much time." Rose told her. Elena was glancing around the room. "You've never been in Damon's room before, have you?" She asked. "Not what you expected?"

"It's just a room with a bed. Maybe I expected them to be silk sheets." Elena said.

"You're telling me. I never expected it to look so…normal." Vanessa added.

_"_You're lucky, you know. No one's ever love me the way you're loved." Rose told Elena.

"I doubt that." Elena said.

"Trevor was my best friend. Nothing more." Rose explained. "I spent all these years on the run from Elijah. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire."

"Kinda sad when you think about it." Marina said.

"At least they can try to keep in touch with others." Vanessa pointed out.

"Why are you so eager to give up?" Rose asked Elena.

"I'm not giving up on anything." Elena told her.

_"_What do you call this deal with Elijah?"

"I call it my best option."

"It's the easiest option."

"That's not fair."

"Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?"

"I spoke with Bonnie. I know that she had the help of another witch, unless you mean it's Elijah's witch so no, I don't." Elena told her.

"What did I miss while I was gone the other night?" Vanessa asked Marina.

"I'll explain later." Marina told her.

"You really are determined to die, aren't you? At least I ran, you're not even trying." Rose pointed out. She fell asleep a few minutes later.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Vanessa asked.

"Maybe I can try to heal her while she's resting." Marina said. "It might make it easier."

"Let's see what they found." Vanessa suggested. They started to leave the room.

"No, stop, wait." The girls turned around to find Rose talking in her sleep. "Tell them to prepare the horses."

"It's okay Rose. Just get some sleep." Elena told her. "You'll feel better when you'll wake up."

"Trevor, don't be so stupid. You'll never going to make it there before the sun." Suddenly, she got up. She was clearly in pain.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Marina said.

"You think so, Marina?" Vanessa asked sarcastically.

"Guys, I need more blood."

"Yeah, of course, here." Elena handed Rose a glass of blood. She ended up spitting it back out.

"And I thought the bite mark was…" Vanessa started.

"Not now." Marina told her. Elena headed into the bathroom for a second. When she got out, Rose wasn't there.

"Where'd she go?" Elena asked.

"I don't know, she went as fast as the wind." Vanessa said. "I think she went that way." She pointed. Suddenly, Rose pushed Elena against the wall.

_"_Everything's your fault, Katerina." She growled.

"She's hallucinating." Marina realized.

"Let's get her off Lena." Vanessa said. She was fully prepared to use a wind gust to separate them.

"You betrayed us!"

"I'm not Katherine!" Elena screamed.

"Elena?" The girls relaxed as Rose let go of her.

"It's me, it's Elena."

"Oh my god, Elena. I'm so sorry." Rose told her. "I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry."

"You're gonna be alright." Elena said.

"My mind, I'm…"

"It was just for a second."

"I'm sorry, don't be scared of me."

"I'm not. I'm not but you need to rest."

"Stay with Elena." Marina told Vanessa. "I'm going downstairs to tell the others what happened." She turned and left the room.

Downstairs, Marina came into the room as they did the research. "Hey, it's getting worse." She told them.

"What happened?" Lea asked.

"She tried to attack Elena thinking she was Katherine." Marina explained. "And she had trouble holding blood down before that."

"Sounds almost like she has a bad case of the flu." Terra said.

"We need to figure out how to handle this, fast." Lea pointed out. "The last thing we need is a sick vampire running around killing people."

"I think I should try one of my healing spells." Marina told them. "In case something happens."

"Hold on, I think I'm going to check in on them." Lea said. "I want to make sure she's calm before we try anything." She headed upstairs and met Vanessa. "How is she?"

"She seems better now, but she's a little upset." They stood outside the doorway.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted, I just wish I wouldn't have been so afraid." Rose was saying to Elena.

"I feel so bad for her." Lea said.

"I didn't know you could feel sympathy for them anymore."

"There's only one I'm opposed to."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he feels bad too?" Vanessa asked her. "Why do you think he's trying to find Jules to see if there's a cure?"

"Because it's his fault that she's in this position." Lea said.

"She's also his closest friend right now." Vanessa pointed out.

"Why are you defending him? He's incapable of feeling anything." Lea said, walking away from her. Vanessa sighed and went in to help Elena.

Downstairs, the girls were looking up cures in the spell books. "Maybe this one will work." Terra told them. Suddenly, Vanessa ran into the room.

"What's going on?" Marina asked.

"It happened again." Vanessa said. Suddenly, they heard something crash.

"This is why it was a stupid idea to leave a human alone with her." Lea said.

"Come on!" Terra said. They ran into the library, where Elena was trying to calm Rose down. Suddenly, Rose pushed her to the floor. Elena opened the curtain, causing her to burn.

"Elena! Get over here!" Vanessa grabbed her and they ran for the door, but Rose caught up to them. Terra opened the door with her powers and Lea used a sun spell, burning her temporarily so they could run.

"Will she be okay?" Elena asked as she ran with Terra back to Stefan's room.

"Yeah, Lea's sun stun spell only lasts for about five seconds." Terra explained. Elena blocked the door with furniture. "I think we'll be okay for a while."

"I hope you're right." A few hours later, it was dark out. Elena and Terra left the room together.

"Guys, Rose is…" Lea began. They all gasped when they saw the front door to the house open. Elena turned around and saw Damon.

"Are you okay? Where's Rose?"

"I don't know." She told him.

"What were you thinking, leaving a human alone with a vampire that's been hallucinating?" Lea asked him.

"A, I didn't know it'd get that bad, and B, I thought you four would be smart enough not to leave her by herself."

"Well, bad news. Rose is missing." Marina said. "She took off as soon as it got dark out."

"We'll handle this." Damon told them.

"I'm coming, too." Vanessa said.

"The rest of you try to figure something out. Cause we don't have a lot of options left." Damon said before he left with Elena and Vanessa. Lea watched them go. She couldn't help but wonder if she was wrong about what she said earlier.

The girls headed back into the living room. Lea was still thinking hard. "Lea?" Marina asked. "Are you okay?"

"Do you think he really cares about Rose?" Lea asked.

"Well, I know he's really protective of her." Marina said. "Remember when we went to that coffee shop. When it blew up, the first thing he did was grab her and get her out because she's not a day-walker."

Lea went back to looking in the books. "I hope we're able to help her." Terra and Marina looked at each other. Lea had never focused on studying before.

A few hours later, Rose was asleep in Damon's room again. The other girls were in there. Marina was sitting on a chair next to her. "I'm going to try this." She put her hand on Rose's and focused.

"Wait, I think I read something in there about this…" Vanessa began. Terra looked at her and realized what she was referring too.

"Marina, stop." Terra said. She saw Rose sweating in pain. To her shock, it was getting worse. Marina let go of Rose.

"What's wrong?"

"Normally when you do those spells, it's like replicating the healing process of white blood cells, right?" Terra pointed out. "Well, you're doing this on a very different injury. Instead of healing her, you're making it worse. It's like, causing cancer cells to multiply."

"I didn't realize…I thought…"

"Hey, it isn't your fault Marina." Lea said. "There are other spells that can remove the pain and not the scar, you know."

"We don't have enough time for me to try again." Marina pointed out. "I blew it."

"You guys should probably go. I'll look after her." Damon told them. The girls looked at each other and headed into the hallway. Marina paused for a second, then went with the others.

"Wait, we can't all just leave him like this." Terra realized. "Two of us better stay behind."

"I'll do it." Marina said.

"So will I." Lea said. "I know that we're total opposites, but we need to stick together on this one." Terra and Vanessa left, leaving them in the house. "I'm going back upstairs."

"I'll come with you." Marina said. She started to follow Lea upstairs, but then thought about it, and headed back to the living room.

Lea was in the hall when she heard Rose talking. She listened through the closed door. "Damon's a lot like me. He wants to care but when he does he runs away from it. I'm sorry for what I've done today."

"I know." Elena told her.

"And you need to fight. I know you're scared but you have to do it anyway. Why are you so nice to me?"

"Us humans."

"You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me. It's the only thing that keeps me going." Lea headed back downstairs. Suddenly, Elena joined her in the hallway.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, but I have to leave for a while." Elena told her. "Rose is in pain again."

"We did everything we could to help." Lea said. "I'm just sorry it didn't work out."

"Elena." Marina said, heading out with them.

"We need to give them some time." She pointed out. "Come on, we can head to your place for a while."

About an hour later, Lea and Elena were back at the Boarding House when Damon returned. "You were supposed to leave." He told Elena.

"I did but then I came back to make sure that you're okay." Elena told him.

"I've been here the whole time." Lea said. "Something told me that she'd come back, so I waited here."

"I appreciate the gesture. I'm just glad it's over." Damon told them.

"You know I don't believe that." Elena pointed out.

"Go home, Elena. Get some rest. It's a whole new day tomorrow." Lea looked at them, not sure if she should intervene or not.

"Damon, I'm your friend." Elena told him.

"I'm well aware of that."

"And a friend usually knows when her friend is hurting."

"What do you want to hear? That I cared about Rose? That I'm upset? Well I didn't and I'm not." Lea could tell he was lying. She knew something was off about him.

"There you go, pretending to turn it off, pretending not to feel. Damon, you're so close, don't give up." Elena told him.

"I feel Elena, okay? And it sucks!" Damon said. "What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me. Jules was coming after me."

"You feel guilty" Elena said. Lea wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement.

"That would be human of me, wouldn't Elena? And I'm not human." Damon pointed out. "You want to talk about giving up? All you've done is give up! Go home. It's been enough doom, gloom and personnel growth for one night." He told her.

"Okay, I will." Elena put her arms around him. Lea just watched them. "Good night, Damon." She left the house, leaving her with him.

"You know, I lost a friend once, too." Lea told him. "It was a few years ago, but I still remember it."

"Why are you still here?" Damon asked her.

"Cause I feel bad that we couldn't help her." Lea said. "And because Marina's really upset that her spell backfired. The last time she got upset because of her powers not working, it took four hours to calm her down."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Lea said. "I might not have Marina's ability to see clearly or Terra's ability to sense if you're lying, but I do know that you're upset. You can't keep running from it all the time, Damon."

"What's the point? I mean, I know I'm responsible for this whole mess. Sometimes I wish we'd never met Mason." Lea put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, would it make you feel better if I told you Rose was happier now?" Lea asked him.

"How can you possibly know that?" Damon asked.

"In addition to having elemental abilities, we also have some psychic powers." Lea said. "And I'm clairvoyant."

"Meaning?"

"I can see certain spirits." Lea told him. "And right now, I can definitely see her. She seems really happy." She touched her pendant under her shirt.

"What is that?"

"It's my pendant." She pulled it out. There was a red stone in the center. "We're the only ones who have them."

"Of course. Your ancestors wore them too."

"They protect us from any kind of dark influence and help us focus our powers." Lea explained.

"You know, you don't have to stay here."

"I stayed here because I wanted to." Lea said. "But if I don't get back soon, the others will start wondering where I am." She started heading toward the door.

"Hang on." She turned around. "Lea, did you really see Rose?" Damon asked her.

"Yes." Lea said. "I wouldn't lie about my abilities, Damon and I know she's important to you." They looked at each other for a while. "I'll see you around." She headed out the door.


	12. Trouble with Werewolves

"Hey, did you get Caroline's message?" Lea asked Vanessa.

"Yeah, she seemed really worried about things." Vanessa told them.

"What was the message?" Marina asked.

"Tyler knows." Lea explained. "About the Salvatores. And he knows that they killed Mason."

"Oh, no." Marina said. "I should probably talk to him before he does something he'll regret."

"I'm headed over to the Grill." Vanessa told them. "There are some things I need to work out. I'll see you later."

"So, you wanna hit the park and do some practice?" Lea asked Terra.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather stay in and finish studying this spell book." Terra told her. "It's been a rough couple days, you know."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, my power hasn't been working since the night Rose died and if I don't do something about it, I might as well be useless." Terra told them.

"Maybe you're just blocked." Lea said. "I can help if you want."

"Thanks, but I'll probably meet you there later." Terra said.

At the Lockwood's house, Marina walked inside and heard the mayor's voice. "Tyler?" She called. She quickly ran into the office to hide and was surprised to see Stefan holding Tyler. They both seemed surprised to see her. "Tyler? I'm leaving for the memorial." Mrs. Lockwood said. She left the room without a second thought. Marina ducked out from behind the couch she had hidden behind and Stefan let go of Tyler.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot here." Stefan said.

"Do you have any idea how it looks from my perspective?" Marina asked them.

"What happened to Mason?" Tyler asked.

"Tyler, there's a lot for us to talk about." Stefan told him. He tried to leave the room.

"Tyler, wait." Marina said. "We need to talk about this." Suddenly, Stefan grabbed him.

"I wouldn't do that. Without a full moon you're not match for me." He pointed out.

"Stefan, let him go." Marina said.

"Relax, I'm here because of Caroline." Stefan told her. "I know they're friends. She asked me to help."

"Did she ask you, too?" Tyler asked her.

"No, but I came as soon as I heard." Marina told him. "I swear." She held up her hand. He nodded, believing her.

At the Grill, Vanessa was playing pool with Joe. "Man, you're really good at this."

"It takes practice." Vanessa said. "Believe it or not, I wasn't always this good."

"How's this going to help in math, though?"

"Well, you're having trouble with geometry, right?" Vanessa pointed out. "If you look at it from a certain angle…" She cleared the table in a single hit from the pool cue. "You can figure it out."

"Oh, now I get it." Joe said. "Very smart, tutor."

"I do my best." Vanessa said. She noticed Elena speaking with Damon and someone she didn't recognize. "You know, how about we take a break for a while and pick this up in a few minutes?"

"Sounds good to me." Joe said. "I'll be right back." Vanessa walked over to Elena, who was now by herself.

Back at the Lockwood's, Marina was with Tyler and Stefan. She was sitting between them. "Look, about Caroline," Stefan told him. "No matter what her flaws are, if an issue comes you'll want to have that girl on your side. She's your friend, stop being a dick to her."

"I thought vampires hated werewolves." Tyler said.

"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time. It doesn't have to be that way anymore. We go to the same school. We have the same friends. We keep the same secrets." Stefan pointed out. "This can work, Tyler. I mean, it's your home, it's my home too. I want this to work."

"So do I." Marina said. "And believe me when I say you can trust him."

"How do you know this?"

"Hey, Stefan's one of most pure-hearted individuals I've ever known." Marina said. "And he's right about Caroline. I may not exactly be close with her, but she's helped you out in more ways than one, Tyler."

"You want to be friends, great, we're friends. Will you go now?" Tyler told him.

"I don't know what else to say to you Tyler. I came back to this town because I wanted a life, I wanted to exist where I can have friends and where I can build a family." Stefan told him. "I have that here, we can both have that."

"Yeah, not everyone believes in this vampire-werewolf war crap." Marina said.

"Really? Which one are you?" Tyler asked her.

"Neither, I'm a witch." Marina told him. He looked at her. "I'm not a very good one, though." Stefan's phone rang.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" He frowned. Marina noticed. "Who is this?" There was a pause. "Jules? Where's Caroline?" Tyler looked up. There was another pause. "Where is she?" Suddenly, there was a scream. Marina flinched. She hated when others were in pain.

"Hurt her again and you're dead." Stefan said. He looked up at the other two people in the room.

"I'm calling Lea and letting her know what's happening." Marina said.

"We better go. She wants to meet with you." Stefan told Tyler. Marina dialed Lea's number as they left.

At the Grill, Vanessa was talking with Elena. "So, wait. Is he your uncle or your father?"

"Both, I guess." Elena said. Vanessa looked at her. "It's a long story."

"What kind of messed-up family is this? You're birth mother's a…vampire." She whispered the last word so no one would overhear. "You're birth father is someone that even the entire council hates, and our history teacher's practically you're step-dad!"

"I know, it's a lot to take in." Elena said. "I'm surprised I didn't freak out over the revelation."

"So, what's he doing back in town?"

"He says he wants to help, but I don't trust him." Elena said. "Especially considering he nearly killed Stefan and Damon last Founder's Day."

"Speaking of Damon, you think he can figure out what he's up to?"

"I don't know, but I hope it doesn't end as bad as last time." They watched as he rejected Jenna's friend and walked over to them.

"Vanessa. What are you doing here?"

"Tutoring a friend." Vanessa said. "I saw you come in and figured I'd talk with Elena."

"You totally blew her off." Elena said.

"I'm staying clear off all women at the moment."

"Lucky for you, Lea's staying clear of all men." Vanessa said.

"You didn't have to be rude." Elena told him.

"Trust me, it's on the best interest of women everywhere." Damon told them.

"Should've thought of that long ago, D." Vanessa said. Elena's phone rang.

"Look, why are you blaming me for something that happened years ago?"

"Because you broke Lea's heart, Damon. You didn't see what she was like when I found her." Vanessa said. "You should've told her before she got her hopes up."

"Stefan? What is it?" Elena asked. She looked concerned.

"Elena?"

Five minutes later, the three of them were in the restrooms. "Why am I just finding out about this now?" Damon asked.

"Stefan was worried that you…" Elena began.

"That I'll what? That I'd kill him?" Damon said. "Of course, it's what's need to happen."

"No Damon, not Tyler. Do whatever you need to do to get Caroline back but just leave Tyler out of it, okay?" Elena asked.

"Why? He's a werewolf, he needs to die. I'm willing to kill him, it's win-win."

"What is with you supernatural species always trying to kill each other?" Vanessa asked. "Look, Tyler's not a bad guy. If what I heard from the conversation's any indication, they're using Caroline to blackmail him!"

"Damon please, okay? Too many people are dead." Elena said.

"You need to stop doing that." Damon said.

"Doing what?"

"Assuming that I'll play the good guy because that you who's asking."

"Be a better man, Damon." Elena told him. Just then, John showed up. Vanessa ducked behind Damon.

"Oh, seriously?" She yelled.

"Do you mind?"

"What's going on?" John asked.

"Nothing." Elena told him.

"It doesn't look like nothing." John said.

"Well guess what John, trust works both ways. Get out." Damon said.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We need to get Caroline back." Elena pointed out.

"We don't have to do anything. I'll take care of it." Damon said.

"I have to get back to my study date." Vanessa said. "But I'll let the others know what's happening." She left the bathroom, followed by Damon.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, I wanted to tell her at first."

"But you didn't." Vanessa said. "She actually swore off all guys for the rest of her life. And we need our kind to continue." She headed back to her table.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Joe asked her.

"Yeah, just helping set things straight. My friend's ex can be frustrating sometimes." Vanessa explained.

"You didn't have a thing for him, right?"

"Uh, are you kidding? He is so not my type." Vanessa said. "Anyway, wanna get back to that round of pool, cause I remember being in the lead."

"Oh, you're on, tutor girl." They headed back for the pool table.

In the woods, Lea was helping Terra. "Look, you know you're still our friend even if you don't have you're powers, right."

"Yeah. Maybe I've been relying on them too much. I need to remember that I'm more than just some witch that's been given Earth-specific abilities." Terra said. That's when she felt it.

"Terra?"

"The guys. They're in trouble." Terra said.

"Wait, does this mean…"

"Yeah, my powers are back." Terra said. "They're out here somewhere, but they're surrounded by a group of people. Come on!"

Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon were trying to fight off a group of werewolves. There were a lot of them around and they were armed with all kinds of weapons. Stefan took out one of them. Just then, an arrow came flying at him, but suddenly, it went another direction.

He turned and saw Terra and Lea had shown up. "I'd leave them alone if I were you." Lea warned. "They've got friends on their side."

One of the guys got out the torch and tried to burn them, but Lea used her powers to make it backfire on them. "I really hate having to do that." She said. One of them hit Stefan in the back with a stake. Terra used her powers to lift him off the ground and sent him flying into a tree.

"Telekinesis. Nice." Damon said as he tried fighting off another enemy.

"It's a gift." Terra replied, punching out another enemy. Lea helped them and took out one that was coming up behind them. She noticed Caroline trying to escape and started to run over, when Jules grabbed her and put a gun to her head. Tyler headed out and looked at what was going on, confused.

"Let her go." Lea said. "Or you're going to seriously pay." Jules looked at her, but didn't put the gun down. Lea was glaring at her. Suddenly, the werewolves were in a lot of pain. They fell to the ground. Terra and Lea looked at each other.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked.

"What the hell is going on?" Tyler wondered.

"It's that spell." Terra realized. "But it's not either of us."

"Then who…" Lea began. Terra tensed. They all looked and saw Luka's father doing the spell.

"Elijah made a promise to Elena. I'm here to see it's up held." He told them. "You need to go. Get out of here. Now." Lea left with Stefan, Damon, and Caroline. He turned to Tyler. "When your friends are waken, give them a message: They need to get the hell out of this town." He told him.

"Are you okay?" Terra asked as soon as he left.

"Yeah. Just a little confused about things." Tyler told her.

"Look, I get it. Finding out about the supernatural is scary and frustrating." Terra said. "But no matter what, you should always stick by your friends side, no matter what they may have done to hurt you."

"How do you know all this?"

"I've lived through that kind of pain before." Terra explained. "Before moving here, my friends and I sort of had a major fight. But when I ran into trouble, they came back and helped. Besides, anyone with any supernatural ability is bound to go through it at some point."

"Are you like Marina?"

"Sort of. Look, I need to get going. My parents are going to wonder why I'm getting home so late." Terra said. "I'll see you around." She left, hoping he'd taken her advice.

Lea and Stefan walked Caroline home. Marina was outside waiting for them. "Hey, I heard about what happened. You alright?"

"Yeah." Caroline said. "I think I'll be okay."

"So is your mom home?" Stefan asked.

"No, she's at work." She told them.

"I can come in if you want me to."

"I'm fine, Stefan." Caroline said.

"You don't have to pretend with me. Anybody would be upset after what you went through tonight." Stefan pointed out.

"I'm okay. I'm not girly little Caroline anymore. I can handle myself."

"I'm glad your okay, Caroline." Lea said. "I don't know what I would've done if they'd hurt you again."

"Thanks, guys." Lea and Marina started to walk away.

"She's in denial." Marina said.

"I know, but it's not like we can force her to admit it. She's been through enough for one night." Lea pointed out. "Besides, we have our own problems."

"Hey, could you two hang on?" Stefan asked them. "I think I might need some help with this one."

A few minutes later, they went back. Lea stayed hidden with the other back-up. "What's going on?" Caroline asked.

"I was a little bit worried about you after everything you went through tonight." Stefan told her. Marina nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Care, I know you're lying." Marina said. "I can see it."

"That's why I brought some back up." Elena and Bonnie showed up. Lea was behind them.

"We're gonna slumber in." Elena told her.

"We haven't done it in ages." Bonnie pointed out.

"After what you've been through, you could use a night with us." Lea said, stepping inside.

Caroline looked at them. She was grateful to have friends like them, still she couldn't stop herself from crying. Bonnie pulled them into a group hug. Lea was really glad she was okay. She didn't know what would've happened if she'd lost another friend.


	13. Witch Q&A

The girls met with Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill. Bonnie had asked them all to come. "You okay?" Terra asked Caroline. She knew what she'd been through the other night.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Caroline said. "I don't know how I would've survived if you guys hadn't stepped in."

"Well, you're our friend." Lea pointed out. "And it's part of our job to keep others safe."

"So, why'd you guys call us here?" Marina asked.

"I had an idea on something, but I could use a hand." Bonnie told them.

"Ok. So tell me about this big witchy plan you've been cooking up." Caroline told her.

"We still don't know the extent of what Elijah's up to." Bonnie pointed out.

"No, we don't."

"But we're gonna find out, aren't we?" Terra asked her. Bonnie nodded.

"It's still weird how you read that."

"I didn't. After spending time with you, I figured out I could understand how you think cause we're so alike." Terra told her.

"Anyway, I'm gonna ask Luka to tell me what he knows." Bonnie explained.

"And he's not gonna tell you anything." Caroline pointed out.

"I didn't say he was gonna have a choice." Bonnie told them.

"Isn't that risky?" Marina asked. "I mean, he's a witch, too." The group looked at her. "I mean, warlock. Okay, whatever. What if he tries to fight it?"

"Marina's got a point." Vanessa said. "Some of us could be immune to certain spells."

"Well, the way I see it, we don't have much of a choice." Bonnie said.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Terra asked.

"I think I can get him to sleep, but I need help because when I ask him, I'm going to need you to use your powers to keep him down." Bonnie told them.

"That should be easy enough." Vanessa said.

"You know we'll help." Marina said. "I trust him as much as you do."

A few minutes later, Luka showed up. He was at the pool table. The girls watched as Bonnie put her part of the plan into motion, carrying coffee over. Jeremy joined them.

"Hey. How's it going?" He asked them.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked.

"Bonnie called. I wanted to help. How's it going?"

"Looks like it's going well so far." Terra said.

"She's selling it, and he's buying it." Caroline told him. They watched as they talked and laughed. "She's giving him the sex smile."

"All right, Caroline. I get it." Jeremy told her. He seemed really annoyed.

"What are you so grumpy for?" Lea asked him. Marina looked at him, then to Bonnie, then back to him as he watched them.

"Oh, my God. You like Bonnie." Marina said.

"Whoa." Caroline said.

"Okay, can we keep this between us?" Jeremy said. "She'd never go for me. Doesn't want to cross the line by dating her friend's brother."

"Got it." Lea said. They looked over to Bonnie and Luka at the pool table. Suddenly, he started to feel weak.

"Come on, guys." Terra said. They walked over to the pool table. Jeremy caught Luka before he could fall to the ground.

"What kind of witch roofie was that?" Jeremy asked her.

"A strong one." Bonnie told him.

"Well, we better get him out of here before anyone sees." Terra said, getting Luka's legs.

"That's going to be hard." Caroline pointed out.

"Not if you have unique powers." Vanessa told them. "I have an invisibility spell that'll give us some cover." She used the spell. The group looked at each other.

"Uh, no offense, but I don't feel like I'm invisible."

"It only makes us invisible to everyone around us, just not each other." Vanessa explained. "Come on, let's get out of here before the traitor wakes up."

A few hours later, the group were sitting down in Caroline's house. "I still think we should've dropped him." Lea said, looking over a sleeping Luka.

"Hey, we're not out for revenge, Lea." Marina pointed out. "Besides, this traitor has some explaining to do." Caroline showed up carrying a bunch of candles.

"We only have, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home." She told them. "And these are all I could find"

"Place these evenly around the room." Bonnie told them. The girls helped Jeremy and Caroline set up the candles.

"How does this work?" Jeremy asked.

"Um, I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions. It's like hypnosis." Bonnie explained.

"You sure you're strong enough for this?" Jeremy asked.

"Never underestimate a witch, Jeremy." Terra said.

"That's what the candles are for. I'll draw power from the flames." Bonnie said.

"I'll get the matches." Caroline said.

"You think she'd learn by now." Vanessa whispered.

"That's not necessary." Lea pointed out.

"We've got it." Bonnie said. She and Lea used their powers to light the candles.

"Never gonna get used to that." Jeremy said.

"Oh, come on. That's pretty hot, and you know it." Caroline pointed out. The others looked at her.

"I need a bowl of water." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get it." Jeremy got up and left the room, leaving the girls alone.

"Ok. What was that?" Bonnie asked Caroline. ""It's hot"?"

"He is so crushing on you." Caroline told her.

"Yeah, he's got it pretty bad." Lea added.

"So?"

"So… What, you'd rather be with traitor warlock over here?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not into Luka. It's just, you know, he understood me, and he was new and different."

"Been there, done that." Lea said.

"I'd have gone for him if he weren't a threat to our little group here." Terra said.

"Really, Terra?" Marina asked. "You could do so much better than him."

"Please, I don't like him that way, anyway!" She protested.

"Shh! We don't want to wake him now." Vanessa pointed out. That broke up the argument.

"And you've known Jeremy since forever, and you only see him one way, as Elena's brother but you're a witch, and I'm a vampire." Caroline pointed out. "You know, it's not like we're in any position…"

"To be picky." Bonnie said.

"No, to judge." Caroline told her.

Jeremy returned then and handed the bowl to Bonnie. "Looks like he's waking up." Jeremy said. The girls used their powers to try and keep him asleep, but he was trying to fight it off.

"Hold on, girls." Vanessa said. "Don't take your focus off him."

"It's hard to hold onto my element." Marina said.

"Hang in there, Marina. We can't let him break free." Terra pointed out.

"How long is this gonna take?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. He's fighting me." Bonnie said. She put her hands on his head.

"Bonnie, it's not working." Lea said. "You need to help us bind the elements together so we can keep him in down." Finally, the tension broke and he stopped fighting them.

"Finally." Marina said.

"Keep concentrating." Terra said. "It won't work if all five of us aren't focused."

"All right." Bonnie said. "Why are you working with Elijah?"

"Klaus. We both want him dead." Luka told her. The girls seemed surprised, but kept their focus up.

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?"

"Because he has her and we have to get her away from him."

"Who… who are you talking about?" Bonnie asked.

"My sister."

"That explains so much." Marina whispered.

"Sister? Why does he have her?" Bonnie asked.

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelganger." Luka explained. "He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries."

"What has Elijah promised you?" Bonnie continued.

"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, He's promised to return her to us."

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an original vampire?" Bonnie asked.

"He'll kill me if I tell you. Don't make me." He said.

"We need to concentrate harder." Terra said.

"If I concentrate any harder, my mind's gonna be fried!" Vanessa said.

"It's ok, Bonnie. We can find another way." Jeremy said.

"No. How will you kill Klaus?" Bonnie asked.

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."

"After the sacrifice?" Caroline asked.

"What do you mean, after?" Terra asked him.

"Klaus will be vulnerable."

"But Elena will be dead." Bonnie pointed out.

"Yes. Elena has to die."

"No." Jeremy said. They all looked at each other.

"We better find her and make sure she's not in trouble." Marina said. Suddenly, Terra felt something was off.

"Oh, no." She turned to the girls. "Jules' pack again. They're trying to kill Damon."

"Well, now what?" Vanessa asked.

"We split up." Terra said. "I can find out where Elena is while you two help Damon."

"I'll go with Terra." Marina said. "Who knows where she is? She could be underwater and Terra would never find her."

"They're at her lakehouse." Caroline told them.

"Come on, Lea." Vanessa said. "Looks like we're on rescue duty." The four of them left the house.

In the forest, Terra and Marina were running. "How far is it?"

"Pretty far." Terra said. "We're going to have to use our powers to get there before they get killed."

"But how are we going to…"

"We'll be able to use the elements around us there to draw power." Terra reminded her. "We can do this." The two of them touched their pendants and they started glowing as they ran.

When they got close to the lake house, they stayed in the forest area. "So, what's going on?" Marina asked.

"Looks like Tyler's got Stefan down and one of Jules' pack members is searching for Elena." Terra said.

"Should we split up?" Marina asked.

"No, that might draw their attention." Terra said. "I can track Elena's movements. She's okay for now. Let's go."

They went into the shed and found Stefan on the ground and Tyler holding a gun toward him. "Ty, put that thing down!" Marina said.

"How'd you two get here?" Tyler asked.

"Doesn't matter." Terra told him. "The bullet's in deep. I'm going to need help, Marina." Marina nodded and came over to her side.

"Why are you doing this, Tyler?" Marina asked.

"I can't let them break the curse." Tyler said.

"You know about the curse?" Stefan asked.

"Try not to move so much." Terra told him. "It'll only cause more pain." She carefully helped him remove the wood bullet while Marina put her hands on his chest, using her healing spell.

"Look, we don't want to break the curse, Tyler." Marina said. "We really don't."

"But I do." Tyler said. "I can't be like this forever."

"I don't think you know what's going on here." Terra said. Marina took her hands off Stefan.

"We're just trying to save Elena." Stefan told him.

"Elena will be fine." Tyler said. They all looked at him and realized he really didn't know what was going on.

"They didn't tell you that part, did they?" Stefan realized. "Who are the liars now?"

"Tell me what?" Tyler asked.

"For the curse to break, Elena has to die." Terra told him. He looked at them in shock.

"It's true." Marina added. "Looks like that wolf tribe failed to mention that." Terra gasped suddenly.

"Elena's in trouble." Terra said. "That other werewolf is after her."

"Is she okay?" Marina asked.

"Scared, but yeah, she's fine. It looks like she's trying to fight back." Terra said. "I'm going in. Marina, wait till I signal you." She ran toward the lake house.

Inside, Elena ran downstairs and hid in her parents' closet. She heard footsteps coming closer. She picked up a weapon and got ready to hit whoever it was with it. Then she heard someone speaking quietly in Latin. She put it down as Terra stepped in.

The guy came into the room, but saw nothing. Terra and Elena were hiding behind the door. That's when Terra passed a stake to Elena. She ran in while he was looking and stabbed him with it. Then they ran outside. "Guys!" Terra called.

"I've got it." Marina said. She used her power to create a weapon and threw it at him. It hit him, paralyzing him from the waist down. He pulled it out and staggered over, when Stefan showed up and pulled out his heart. Terra and Marina cringed.

He went over to comfort Elena. "Thank goodness that's over." Terra said.

"Yeah, I was so scared he was going to catch you two in there." Marina said. Tyler appeared then.

"Tyler?" Elena asked.

"I didn't know what they were gonna do to you." He explained. "I just... I didn't want to be like this anymore. I'm sorry, Elena." She walked over to him and held him.

"It's okay." She told him.

"We know you didn't mean any of this." Marina said. "We all get it though."

"Yeah, it's not like you asked to be this way." Terra added. "But the best way is to try and cope with it."

At the Boarding House, Vanessa and Lea saw Damon chained near the fire place. There were four werewolves in the room. The girls looked at each other and nodded. Vanessa used a gust to throw one of them to the ground. Then she noticed Alaric on the floor.

"Oh, my God!"

"It's okay." She turned as Damon strained to speak. "That ring will bring him back to life in a few hours or so."

"Get her, guys." Jules said. They began to walk toward Vanessa, who was still leaning over Alaric's body. She used another wind gust to push them back from her. Lea ran into the room and went to Damon's side. She looked at the device around his neck.

"What are you waiting for?"

"I don't know if I can burn it off without burning you in the process." Lea told him. "I can try to make break in it, but it'll take time." One of the guys started to walk over to her. "Back off!" Lea said, lighting the fireplace behind her. "If anyone's going to kill him, it's going to be me."

"Looking for this?" The girls turned around and saw Elijah in the room. He placed the moonstone on the table.

"That must be the Original they were talking about." Vanessa said. "Elijah."

"Go ahead." One of the werewolves ran over to get it and he killed him instantly. Vanessa looked away and cringed.

"I guess that's why everyone's scared of them." Lea said. Suddenly one of the werewolves got close to her. She used her powers to burn him. "I warned you not to start with me." With that, a fight broke out with her, Vanessa, and Elijah fighting off the werewolves. When it was over, Jules was the last one standing. She sped out of the house.

"Thank goodness that's over." Vanessa said.

"Yeah." Lea agreed. Elijah went over and broke the device on Damon.

"You realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?" He pointed out. Then he left the room.

"You okay?" Lea asked.

"Yeah." Damon said. "Thanks for trying, anyway."

"I meant what I said, Damon. If anyone's going to kill you, it's going to be me." Lea said. She walked out of the room.

"She's got a lot of anger in her." Vanessa explained. "It's partly why she's a good fighter, but she's also got a good heart."

"I'm guessing you didn't just come here to save me."

"No, we also have some news you're not going to like." Vanessa said.

A few minutes later, she was sitting on a chair while Damon was on the phone with Stefan, explaining everything. "He was gonna go through with the whole sacrifice." He told him. "You should probably just keep her away a little longer."

Vanessa moved to check on her dead history teacher, who according to Damon, would be waking up any second. "Yeah, it's been a day for that." He hung up. Just then, Alaric woke up, surprising Vanessa.

"Whoa."

"Yeah, surprised me the first time, too." Damon told her. Vanessa put her hand on him and whispered a spell.

"Everything seems normal, though I did feel something a little off, but it's probably just cause he woke up from being dead." Vanessa said. "Sometimes that happens when normal people go through a transition, though considering the ring you told me about, that could probably have the same effect."

At the lake house, Marina and Terra were with Elena. She went over to Stefan. "That was Damon. We need to talk." The two looked at each other, they knew this wasn't going to end well.

"What is it?"

"He learned that Elijah's planning for you to die in the sacrifice ritual."

"He's telling the truth." Terra said.

"I know." Elena told them. "I know the deal I made, Stefan. Elijah's very careful with his words. He promised to protect my friends. He never said a word about me."

"Wait, you knew all along that there was a high chance that you were going to die?" Marina asked.

"I don't believe this." Terra said.

"I'm just trying to keep everyone I love save." Elena told them.

"By being a martyr?" Stefan spoke up. "Elena, that's not heroic. That's tragic." He walked out of the room.

"Stef…" Terra began.

"No, he needs time." Marina said. "In any case, he's right, though. You think we're just going to let you die?"

"No, I think you and everyone else are going to put your lives on the line for me." Elena said. "Tell me, how is that any better?" She got up and headed into her parents' bedroom.

"This is serious." Terra said.

"So, now what?" Marina asked.

"It's too dark to try and get all the way back to Mystic Falls now." Terra said. "We'll stay here tonight. We can leave tomorrow morning if we have to."


	14. Chapter 14

At the lake house, Marina noticed Elena inside, reading through something. Terra had already gone back to Mystic Falls. She was going to help the other girls out with their plan. "Hey, how are you?"

"I'm okay." Elena told her, not glancing up.

"Look, you shouldn't…" Marina watched as she looked at the book in surprise, then out the window. Marina followed her gaze and saw Stefan outside. "Is that your ancestor's journal?"

"Yeah." Elena said. "He mentioned something about Stefan." She got up. "I'm sorry, could you give me a minute?"

"Sure." Marina said. She put on her sweatshirt and headed outside. When she got out there, Stefan was on the phone with someone. Then she felt something vibrate and answered. "Hey, guys."

"How is it up at the lake house?" Vanessa asked.

"Very tense." Marina said. "They haven't spoken since last night. What's it like on your end?"

"Well, according to Damon, Tyler left town last night. We're trying to help figure out how to take down Elijah."

"Can't you just use your powers?" Marina pointed out.

"That's true, but we need to do it in a way where he won't notice us." Vanessa pointed out. "Besides, to use that one attack, we'd need you with us." Then Marina heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gotta go, Marina." Vanessa said. She hung up on her. It was then that she and Stefan looked up at each other.

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know what you two are planning." Marina said. "The other girls' are in on it, too."

"Look, this has to stay between us, okay?" Stefan told her. "If Elena finds out, it'll just upset her."

"Hey, I'm on your side with this one." Marina said. "But we need to convince her to live if we have any hope of keeping her safe."

At the Grill, Terra was talking with Bonnie. "So, are you two together or what?" She asked.

"Well, it's kinda awkward." Bonnie said. "And I want to make sure Elena's cool with it, considering I'd be dating her brother."

"I understand completely." Terra said. "I had a crush on this guy's brother once. I ended up moving, but we never really dated or anything."

"Why not?"

"There was just no spark between us. Didn't stop us from being good friends, though." Terra said. Jeremy came over to sit with them.

"Hey, whatcha doin'?"

"Thinking about last night." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, yeah. Me, too"

"It was a tough spell. I could feel it draining me." Bonnie said. "I need practice."

"It took a lot out of us, too, Bon." Terra pointed out. "Though, you might be right."

"Maybe you should come over tonight. We can practice. Get stronger." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." Bonnie said.

"I'd love to help, but the girls and I have to get our plan straight." Terra said. "I'll see if I can stop by later, okay?" Just then she tensed. She could feel Luka coming over to them.

"Ah, incoming." Jeremy said.

"You want to tell me what the hell happened yesterday?" He asked them.

"Sorry?" Bonnie said.

"Don't play dumb. You both were here and..." He cut off.

"And?"

"And that's all I remember. One minute I'm playing pool and the next I'm waking up in a bathroom stall." Luka said. Terra looked at them in confusion.

"Really?" Bonnie heard her thinking.

"It was all we could think of." Bonnie thought back to her. "You guys had all left." She turned to Luka and spoke. "Sorry, Luka, but everything seemed normal yesterday. I brought you coffee and we played pool."

"See, I think you're lying." Luka said.

"And I think you need to back off." Jeremy told him. Luka looked at them and then left.

"Now that was cool." Terra said.

"I know." Bonnie told her.

At the lake house, Stefan and Marina walked in while Elena was still reading the journal.

"Are you still mad?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I'm still mad." He told her. Marina looked nervous. This was not the way she was expecting the conversation to go.

"We had a difference of opinion, Stefan, we're not always gonna agree on everything." Elena pointed out.

"Elena, you've agreed to sacrifice yourself to Klaus. To say that we have a difference of opinion is the understatement of the century."

"You would know."

"What does Jonathan Gilbert have to say?" He asked her.

"A lot. It's insane the things he wrote in his journal that he kept from the founding families." Elena explained. "Stuff that nobody knows. Stuff that... You never told me."

"We were, uh... We were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine. We wanted revenge." Stefan explained. "I didn't know about Jonathan Gilbert's ring yet. I didn't know that he would... that he would survive."

"He describes you as a monster."

"That's what I was." Stefan said. Marina remembered something then.

"After our ancestors disbanded, they left fearing what would happen following Emily's fate." Marina added, coming in. "A few of them stayed, living in secrecy. Mira wrote about it. She said that she saw you." They looked at her.

"I want you to know the truth... But I want you to hear it from me." Stefan told them. "In the weeks after I became a vampire, I relished in it. I took it to the darkest place I could. I wasn't myself then. I was full of guilt. What I did to my father, to my brother. I had to turn it off. It was the only way I could survive."

"It sounds like you were Damon." Elena said.

"I was worse."

"And I thought Lea had a dark side." Marina said.

At the Grill, the rest of the group was sitting down together. Vanessa was sitting behind Damon, so she heard everything. "Other than the lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?"

"Why are we eavesdropping on them again?" Vanessa thought.

"Because we need to get a plan straight. Now clear your minds and listen." Terra thought back.

"Okay, just wanted to know what we were doing here." Lea thought. The girls stopped communicating and listened.

"Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming." Alaric said.

"He's dating Elena's aunt?" Lea asked.

"You act like that's something new." Vanessa said.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here." Alaric said. The girls instantly shut up.

"Andie, she's been compelled not to divulge my secrets." Damon told him. "Haven't you?"

"My lips are sealed."

"That is so typical of him." Lea said.

"Jealous, Lea?" Terra asked.

"I am not…"

"Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend. Hi." The girls listened in again.

"Hey, guys." Jenna said.

"So I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today." Damon said.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Well, as much as I'd love to continue this, I've got papers to grade." Alaric said, getting up.

"No, you know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party." Andie suggested.

"Ooh, my girl. Full of good ideas. I'll be happy to host." Damon said.

"I'll bet it was his idea." Lea said to the girls. They nodded in agreement.

"It's good for me. Jenna?"

"I don't know if tonight works..." Alaric said.

"I'm free." Jenna said.

"It'd be a pleasure." Terra heard Elijah say.

"Great." The group got up and left. Damon stayed behind. "Okay, I know you're there. You can come out now." The girls walked over to him.

"So, this is you're plan?" Vanessa asked.

"I haven't got any better ideas." Damon pointed out.

"Well, we're in." Lea said. "Just tell us what you want us to do."

"You mean you want to help?"

"Are you kidding? We've been waiting a month to get some pay back after that kidnapping stunt." Vanessa said.

"I don't know if I can go, you guys." Terra said. "I promised I'd tutor Bonnie on channeling earth."

"You can help her as soon as we're done." Lea pointed out.

"I guess you're right." Terra said.

Back at the lake house, Marina and Elena were still with Stefan. "How come no one caught on to what you were doing?"

"There was a war going on." Stefan pointed out. "The thing about wartime. Endless, anonymous blood supply."

"Mira noticed what was going on." Marina explained. "Under the cover of night, she'd heal some of the wounded. About three of them mysteriously died anyway. It wasn't until a certain girl caught her attention and helped her realize what was really happening. I believe you may have known her." She turned to Stefan. Then she knew he knew who she meant.

"Alexia Branson, as she was known back then."

"Lexi? Your best friend Lexi?" Elena asked. "That's how you met her? What was she even doing in Mystic Falls?"

"She had heard it was a good place for vampires. You know, had no idea that they'd all been massacred." Stefan explained. "Needed a place to crash, so I brought her home with me."

"Yeah, Mira said she was close with you. At the time, I'd suspected you guys were together." Marina said.

"Trust me, we've all made that mistake once." Elena told her. She noticed Stefan then. "Are you okay?"

"Talking about her brings up things I'd rather forget." He admitted.

"Like Damon killing her?"

"What happened?" Marina asked.

"Later." Elena told her. Marina nodded, understanding.

Meanwhile, the girls met Damon and Alaric in the Boarding House's library.

"This is a bad idea." Alaric was saying.

"There's no such thing as a bad idea. Just poorly executed awesome ones." Damon told him. He handed him a glass. "Here"

"No. I don't like the idea of Elijah being in the same house with Jenna." Alaric said.

"He's totally jealous." Vanessa whispered.

"Jenna's perfectly safe. Besides, it's just a fact-finding mission. It's totally harmless." Damon told him. Terra knew right away he wasn't telling him the truth.

"Listen, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put Jenna in harm's way. Okay?" Alaric said.

"Scout's honor." Just then, Andie showed up.

"Hey, Jenna needs help with the wine." Alaric left the room.

"You just lied to him." Terra said.

"Had to be done." Damon pointed out. "Besides, it's probably better if he doesn't know." He took out the dagger. Terra recognized it.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Terra said.

"Do you have a better one?" He asked.

"Never mind." Terra said. "Girls, in the hall. Now."

"What's up, Terra?" Vanessa said once they were out of hearing range.

"That dagger's made of white oak. It's just like the one Nicole mentioned her diary." Terra said.

"What are you saying?" Lea asked.

"If Damon goes through with the plan, he'll die, too." Terra said.

"Is that really such a bad thing?"

"Lea, this is serious." Vanessa said. "If he dies, we're one less fighter to help take down Klaus."

"Well, it's not like we can stop him from using the dagger." Lea pointed out.

"We have to let him know sometime, guys." Terra said. "Come on, let's go downstairs. I think someone's coming."

All of a sudden, the bell rang. "Okay, now that is scary." Vanessa said. When they joined the others, they found John.

"Oh, God!" Lea said. "Not again."

"Who invited him?" Jenna asked.

"John! Surprise... Leave." Damon said.

"You know that guy?" Terra asked.

"That's Elena's uncle or was he her father?" Lea said. "It's complicated."

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games." John told them.

"There are not going to be any games tonight, John." Alaric said. "It's just a friendly dinner party."

_A few minutes later, _the group sat around the table. "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town." Jenna told him.

"Hmm, do tell."

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s." Elijah explained. The girls exchanged a glance at each other. "Over the next hundred years they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Because they were witches." Jenna guessed.

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." Andie said.

"Who is she again?" Lea asked.

"Some news woman he compelled into helping us." Terra thought, but the other two witches heard it.

"Andie's a journalist. Big on facts." Damon said.

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded up." Elijah continued. "They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the..".

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society." Jenna said.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me." John added.

"Hopefully it is just a ghost story." Vanessa said. She and the other girls were uncomfortable.

"So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked.

"You know... a healthy historian's curiosity, of course." Elijah told him.

"Of course." But the girls didn't seem so sure.

Marina was sitting with Elena when Stefan returned. "Jonathan Gilbert got crazier and crazier. I guess that's what happens when you spend your life obsessed with vampires." Elena said.

"Or any other supernatural." Marina said. "When I found out about my powers, my grandmother kept insisting that Mom and I take her grimoire collection of the other witches gifted with water-based powers in our family."

"He researched the Originals." Elena said, looking at a journal.

"You're kidding." Stefan said. He sat down with them.

"Later in life, look." She showed them the journal. "Pages and pages of questions and scribbles. What's that?" She found a drawing of the dagger and started reading it. She shared a glance with Stefan.

"The wood from one tree and one tree alone, an ancient white oak would bring death to an Original vampire. When the tree burned, all hope was thought lost." He was trying to figure out how to kill an Original." Elena realized. She read more. "But the ash from the tree was saved and witches forged a dagger to which the ash could be bonded. This alchemic bond provides the necessary poison"

"Elena..."

"I wonder if this is true. I mean, do you think this dagger actually exists?" Elena asked them.

"I know it does... Because John gave it to Damon." Stefan told her.

"He gave it to Damon?!" Marina repeated. She knew the dagger would be fatal to him if he used it.

"John gave Damon the weapon that's supposed to kill Elijah? This one?" Elena asked. She read again. "It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it."

"John's trying to get Damon killed." Stefan realized. He headed to his phone. "Why is your phone off? Call me."

Meanwhile, Marina contacted the other girls. "That's right. Stefan's trying to warn him now, but it's not working."

"I don't believe this." Lea said. "You'd think the idiot would keep his phone on."

"I told you we should've thought of a back-up plan!" Terra yelled at her.

"No time. Just do whatever it takes to keep him from killing Elijah." Marina said.

At the Boarding House, the girls were in the hallway. They had just got off with Marina. "So, now what?" Terra asked.

"We should tell Ric what's going on." Vanessa said. "Maybe he can help."

"Help with what?" The group jumped.

"We have got to start paying more attention." Lea said. The girls explained the situation to him.

"…and we have no time to warn him." Terra finished.

"I'll let him know." Alaric said.

In the library, Damon was with Elijah. "So, let me guess. In addition to the moonstone, the doppelganger, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, you need to find this witch burial ground." Damon said. Vanessa heard it through the door.

"Because I feel as though we've grown so close, Damon, I'll tell you yes." Elijah said. "Do you know where it is?"

"Maybe. Tell me why it's so important."

"We're not that close." Elijah told him. He glanced at the books. "It's quite a collection you have here. It's a funny thing about books. Before they existed, people actually had memories."

"Some of us have better memories than others." Lea said, glaring at Damon as she entered the room.

"Some things should stay in the past though, Lea." Vanessa told her. "Then again, everyone deserves to know the truth right away."

"When are you ever going to let that go?" Damon asked them.

"Gentlemen, we forgot about dessert." Alaric interrupted. The girls looked back as Terra joined them. Elijah left the room with Andie. Damon looked at the note Alaric gave him.

"Is this true?" Terra nodded.

"According to our ancestor's, only a human can use it." Vanessa explained.

The group headed back to the kitchen, trying to act like nothing was wrong. "Sorry, guys, dessert is taking longer than I thought." Jenna said. "I usually just unwrap food."

"Yeah, I used to do the same thing." Vanessa said.

"Until you took that cooking class." Lea said, remembering.

"Yeah, that was…interesting." Terra said.

"So... I know this is a social thing, but I... I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here." Andie told Elijah.

"I'd love to answer."

"Great." Just then, Damon and Alaric returned. "Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Alaric went and looked at the bag.

"Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle/father?" Damon asked.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that."

"Yeah, the rest of us are still trying to figure that one out." Lea said.

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list." Vanessa tried not to laugh.

"Ric, it's in the front pocket. On the... you know what?" Andie got up. "Excuse me, guys. Sorry." She went to help him out.

"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?" John asked.

"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep on eye on Elena." Elijah told them. "I allow Elena to remain in her house living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again." The girls turned to each other.

"If he tries anything, he's so dead." Terra thought. Andie came back with her journal.

"Ok. My first question is when you got here to Mystic..." Her question was cut off as Alaric suddenly stabbed Elijah with the dagger. Everyone was surprised.

"Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert." Alaric said.

"All right."

"Okay…" Lea said.

"Let's just get rid of him." Terra said, trying to shove the awkwardness down.

At the lake house, Elena was out on the deck. Marina was with her, feeling guilty for not telling her about their plan, but she knew she couldn't have if she wanted to. It wasn't the only secret she was hiding from her, from everyone.

Stefan joined them. "Elena, we need to talk about this." He said.

"What good is talking if you and Damon are just gonna lie to me? If you don't like my decisions, that's fine." Elena said. "There's nothing I can do about that but if you ever go behind my back again, I'll..."

"You're gonna what? What are you gonna do, Elena?"

"It's bad enough that she was in on it."

"I had nothing to do with it, Lena." Marina said. "But there are some secrets that even my team has to keep. I didn't know they were planning to kill him tonight, I swear."

"So you just knew they were planning to kill him, like that's any better?" Elena pointed out. "It's my life, guys."

"Yeah, exactly. It's your life and I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that you live it." Stefan told her. Marina nodded.

"Then what? This... this... this trip through the past. You being honest. Was there any truth to that or were you just distracting me?" Elena asked him.

"I was telling you about a time when I thought everything was lost. When I had given up because that's exactly what you're doing right now."

"That is not what..." Elena protested.

"Yes, it is! Even if you don't want to admit it." Stefan told her. "You are giving up... and Lexi? she wouldn't let me give up. I'm not gonna let you."

"And neither am I." Marina said. "Cause if you go through with this, who's to say they won't go back on their word?" She pointed out.

"Lexi showed me that there was another way. And from that day forward, I started fighting for it. For my own survival." Stefan explained. "That's all I want you to do. I just want you to fight for it." He headed back inside to give them some alone time.

"Elena, do you really want to die?" Marina asked.

"No, I don't." Elena admitted. "I just don't see another way of stopping him."

"He's right, though. It's your life, Elena. Don't just throw it away." Marina went inside.

Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were in the basement with Alaric and Damon.

"Now, you said there wasn't going to be any violence." He pointed out.

"Says the guy that did all the killing." Damon said.

"Hey, I took the shot because I saw an opening, not because I planned to do this with Jenna in the house." Alaric told him.

"He wouldn't have had to do it at all if you would've listened when we said this was a bad idea." Terra added.

"Next time, you better listen. At least us witches are less impulsive then you guys." Lea said. The girls left the room.

"I'm leaving. I think something's going on with Bonnie." Terra told them.

"Okay."

"Later, Terra."

At the lake house, Marina was sitting on the couch. "Elijah's dead. Alaric did it." Stefan told the girls. Elena was still reading the journal.

"Originals believed in truth and honor. It was forbidden for a vampire to kill another vampire. So, the dagger would take both lives. And as long as the dagger stays in place, the Original, for all intents and purposes, is dead."

"Wait, so he might not be dead, then?" Marina said.

"Considering we just found this out now…" Elena began.

"Okay, don't panic. We just need to figure out a plan in case he comes here." Marina told them.

At the Gilberts, Bonnie was practicing using candles. The flames from them disappeared, and then showed up in her hands before vanishing. "Wow. That's awesome." Terra said. "Lea would be very impressed."

"She showed it to me once." Bonnie told her.

"How does it work?" Jeremy asked.

"It's called channeling. Siphoning power from something... another witch... the Moon, an element." Bonnie explained.

"It helps focus our powers when we need to be together." Terra added. "At least, for four of us."

"So, technically, you could channel me." Jeremy said.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, I'm an element, sort of. I mean, isn't... isn't the human body mostly water?"

"You're right. Let's... see what happens." Hestitantly, she put her hand on his chest, but Terra gasped.

"Dr. Martin's here. And he's angry." She said. Sure enough, the door burst open then.

"That is scarily accurate." Jeremy said.

"It's a gift and a curse." Terra told him. Suddenly, he was thrown against a wall.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie called.

"What did my son tell you?" Dr. Martin asked her. Terra had ducked into the hallway. There was no way she could take on a full-powered warlock by herself.

"He told me about your daughter. I know Klaus has her and I want to help you get her back." Bonnie told him. "But I want us to work together. Please."

"This is for your own good." He did a spell on her. "If any harm comes to my son because of what you did, you will answer to me." He left the house.

Terra came back into the room and got Jeremy down using telekinesis. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Jeremy said. They rushed over to Bonnie. "You okay? What happened?"

"He took my powers." Bonnie told them. Terra touched her hand.

"They're really gone." She held onto her. "We'll find a way to get them back, Bonnie. I know we will."

At the lake house, Marina stayed hidden behind a wall. "He's here." Stefan said. Suddenly, there was a loud sound.

"You have to go. I need to talk to him alone." Elena told him.

"Elena..."

"Stefan, I'm ok. He can't come in the house." She pointed out. He headed inside and joined Marina.

"You think it'll work?" Marina asked.

"I hope so." Stefan told her. He was listening to the conversation.

"What's going on?" Marina asked.

"He doesn't believe her." Stefan said. A few minutes later, he rushed outside. Marina found Elijah daggered on the ground and Elena collapsed in Stefan's arms.

"Was that really necessary?" Marina asked. Stefan had given her his blood, but she didn't want to take chances. She put her hand on her stomach.

"Little tip." They looked up and saw Damon. "Don't pull the dagger out." Marina noticed Vanessa with him.

"How'd you get here?"

"The usual way." Vanessa told her.

The group met up back at the Boarding House. They were all downstairs with the guys. "Hopefully that's the last of him." Lea said.

"Yeah." Vanessa said. Damon found the moonstone on him.

"You know, if Terra were here, she'd have been able to find it instantly." Marina said.

"Really?" Stefan asked.

"She's good at finding things." Vanessa said. "You should know that by now."

"I'll hold on to this." Damon told them, holding the moonstone.

"Better keep it somewhere no one will find it."

"I'm not an idiot, Lee."

"So, that's it. I mean, as long as we keep the dagger in there, then he stays dead." Elena said.

"Pretty much."

"Ok, then... Good night." The group started to leave. "You know, you guys want me to fight, fine, I'll fight. But if we're gonna do this, you can't keep anything from me anymore." Elena told them. "From this moment on, we're doing it my way."

"That seems fair."

"Okay."

"We can respect that." Marina said. The girls nodded.

"Okay." Elena left.

The girls were walking home afterward. "So, what happened at that lake house, anyway?" Lea asked.

"We convinced her that she had to live." Marina said. "All we had to do really was to get her to believe it."

"Well, looks like it worked." Vanessa said.

"That girl certainly has a lot of fire in her, I can tell that much." Lea said.

"Yeah, hopefully we can still keep her safe from them." Marina said.


	15. Chapter 15

At school, Marina and Vanessa met with Stefan and Elena as they showed up. "What took you so long?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, we had an unexpected visitor this morning." Stefan told them.

"Who almost got me killed with her little stunt again." Elena added.

"Oh, no." Marina said, getting the message. Lea showed up just then.

"Oh, please tell me that little evil twin bitch did NOT go back to your place."

"Good morning to you, too, Lea." Vanessa said.

"Look, she wants Klaus dead just as much as we do." Stefan told them.

"Yeah, what makes you so sure she's not there to play you guys again?" Lea asked.

"I don't like it any better than you do." Elena said. "But I trust him."

"Whatever."

"You're still coming to girls' night, right?" She asked them.

"We'll try to make it." Marina said. "Not all of us might come, though."

"Where's Terra?" Stefan asked.

"She's with Bonnie." Marina told him. "Anyway, I have to get to class." The group went separate ways.

On the way to class, Vanessa ran into Joe. "Hey, Vanessa."

"What's up?"

"They're having a band at the Grill tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"Sure." Vanessa said. "I'll be there."

"Cool. See you later, then." Joe left and went down the hall.

"She's out of the tomb?" Bonnie asked. She was with Jeremy and Terra when Stefan gave them the news.

"Yeah. We're dealing with it, all right? Just be extra careful. She's getting a little too good at impersonating Elena." Stefan told them.

"Please, that girl cannot trick me. I'm practically a lie detector." Terra said.

"With Katherine still around, we gotta find a way to get your powers back." Jeremy pointed out.

"We're working on it, Jer." Terra told him.

"Listen, I want to get the Martins on our side." Stefan told them. "I want to figure out a way for us all to work together now that Elijah's out of the picture."

"It's impossible. They hate us." Bonnie said.

"This has bad idea written all over it." Terra agreed.

"It's either win them over or somebody's going to end up dead." Stefan pointed out. "You think you can at least convince them to have a civil conversation?"

"I'll try." Bonnie said.

"Thanks. Keep me posted." Stefan told them. He left.

"Okay. We've gotta get to class." Bonnie said.

"All right, I'll see ya." Jeremy said. He leaned in to kiss her, but she ended up laughing. "Come on. Elena's nowhere in sight." He pointed out. They kissed.

"I'll tell her soon. I promise." Bonnie told him.

"Alright." Jeremy left.

"I'm thinking you should tell her tonight." Terra said. "It might help clear some stuff and help you concentrate."

"Does that meditative stuff really work?"

"Well, yeah." Terra said. "I'll let the others know about the meeting. See you tonight." She headed to her class.

After class let out, she told them everything. "You want us to go to a meeting with those traitors?" Lea asked. "Have you lost it?"

"Look, guys, Bonnie doesn't have her powers right now." Terra said. "And we need their help. Would you rather trust Katherine?"

"Earth girl's got a good point." Marina said.

"I don't agree with any of this, but we'll be there." Vanessa said.

"Yeah, I guess we can suck it up." Lea said.

"Okay, so we'll meet with them once school's out."

A few hours later, the girls met at the Grill. Bonnie and Stefan were waiting. "Hey, have you seen any sign of them?" Bonnie asked.

"No, but I think they'll be here soon." Terra told her.

"I don't know about this, guys." Marina said.

"It'll be fine." Vanessa said. "Let's just hope they'll get on our side." After a few minutes, they showed up.

"Thank you for coming." Stefan told them.

"I didn't want to but my son made a case to hear you out." Dr. Martin told them.

"Guess that kid's not as bad as we thought." Vanessa thought. Terra nodded.

"Bonnie said that you have information about Elijah." Luka said.

"Elijah's dead. I'm sorry." Stefan told them. Dr. Martin got up, but Stefan stopped him. "Hear me out. We can help you."

"We know that Klaus has your daughter. I'm sorry about the way I had to get that information, but it's good that we know." Bonnie said. "We can all work together to get her back."

"How?" Luka asked.

"I suspect that you and Elijah had a plan to kill Klaus. I'll just help you carry it out." Stefan told them. "You can trust us. I give you my word. We all want Klaus dead here."

"Plus, there's the fact that there are four other witches will be helping you guys here." Marina added. The other girls nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, Lea went over to the Boarding House. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but she had a feeling she had to do this. "Hey, I heard about…" She stopped. Katherine was in the room. "Never mind."

"You guys don't have to talk about me behind my back, you know." Katherine told them.

"She thinks she knows something about the witches who were killed." Damon told her, without taking his eyes off Katherine.

"How does she know this?"

"Emily Bennett told me about the massacre. It was a big deal in witch folklore." Katherine told them. "When a witch dies violently, they release a mystical energy marking the place of their death with power."

"She's not lying." Lea said.

"Elijah wanted to know the site of the massacre." Damon reminded her.

"What was he going to do when he found it?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know." Damon said. "What did papa witch and baby witch have to say?" Lea turned and saw Stefan in the room.

"I'll never get used that."

"Isn't she gone or dead yet?" Stefan asked.

"For the last time, I'm here to help." Katherine said. "Can we skip the secrets, hmm?"

"Elijah had no weapon to kill Klaus but he believed that if a witch could channel enough power... They wouldn't need one." Stefan told them.

"Like the power you get from a spot marked with a hundred dead witches?" Damon asked. Lea looked surprised.

"We just need to find it."

"Okay, I have to go now." Lea said. "You know, I still have homework and stuff." She left and nearly tripped before getting out the door.

"So, who is she again?" Katherine asked.

"Just someone from the past." Damon told her. "No big deal."

That night, she met with Marina and Terra at Elena's house. The girls were in the kitchen. "Chinese food or pizza?" Caroline asked.

"Like you have to ask." Elena said.

"I will get it." She took out her phone.

"Thank goodness it's not like one of our get-togethers." Lea said. "We always argue about this kind of stuff." Caroline looked at her phone sadly. Marina knew without looking.

"Matt trouble again?"

"You have no idea."

"I'll do it." Bonnie took the phone from Caroline to order.

"Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?" Elena asked.

"I don't know what to believe." Bonnie told her. "I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."

"Join the club."

"He's a pretty tough one to read, that's for sure." Terra said. "Not sure if he can be trusted."

"Well, what are we going to do about this movie situation?" Caroline asked. "What about "The Notebook"?"

"Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?" Elena pointed out.

"That is so not the point."

"Well, yeah, I mean..."

"Please tell me she's not a fan of the Titanic, too." Lea said.

"Hey!"

"What? Those romantic movies are so over-the-top lame, they're ridiculous."

"Yeah, coming from the girl who claims she's never been in love, right?" Marina said. "Not because it brings up stuff that hurts to think about."

Jenna showed up, then. "Hey."

"What's going on?" She asked them.

"Girls' night." Elena replied.

"Oh."

"How are you doing?" Elena asked.

"You heard about my fight with Ric." Jenna said.

"He feels terrible." Elena told her.

"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?" Jenna asked.

"No. No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk, or..."

"Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships." Caroline said.

"Honey, we've all been there at some point." Lea told her, putting her hand on her shoulder.

"You, too?" Jenna said.

"You have no idea." Caroline said.

"Okay, then." She went to get a water bottle from the fridge. "It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me."

"Isobel as in your vampire birth mom, Isobel?" Terra thought. Elena nodded.

"To play devil's advocate, maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you. Maybe he is just trying to protect you." Caroline told her.

"Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does." Jenna said.

"Sometimes it's harder than that." Caroline said.

"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't." Jenna said.

"Did I mention how cool your aunt is?" Lea asked.

"You know, things aren't always what they seem, Jenna." Terra said.

"I'm sure he means well by keeping something from you." Marina said. "Maybe he's afraid of how you'll react."

"You know what we need?" Caroline cut them off. "Dancing. There is a band at the Grill."

"I'm in." Bonnie said.

"In."

"In."

"Guess we're in, too." Marina said.

At the Grill, Vanessa and Joe were listening to the band. "These guys are awesome!" Vanessa yelled over the crowd cheering.

"I know. I thought you'd like them." Joe told her.

"It's been a while since I've been to a concert." Vanessa said as the band was setting up for the next song.

"Really? When was the last time you've been to one?"

"A few years ago, during the spring." Vanessa told him. "Before my parents' job transfer moved us here." She noticed Matt working.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked her.

"It's just…you know Matt, right?" Vanessa asked. He nodded. "Well, my friend, Caroline…they're having a problem and she's upset about it."

"Yeah, he thinks there's something up with her and Ty."

"Wait, Tyler Lockwood?" Vanessa asked. She laughed. "That's what this is about? She and Tyler are friends. Trust me, if they were dating, I'd know. I've just been so worried about Care. She really likes Matt and the situation's been tearing them apart."

"I love that you care so much about your friends." Joe told her. Vanessa looked at him, smiling. She got on her toes and kissed him.

"Oops." She heard someone say. She pulled away and turned around to find her friends, plus Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, and Jenna standing nearby.

"What are you guys doing here?" Vanessa asked.

"It was Care's idea to come here." Lea told her. "Honestly, we knew you were on a date, we wouldn't have…"

"Hey, it's fine." Joe told them. "I'll be back in a minute." He walked away.

"Okay. I need a drink." Jenna headed over to the bar. Caroline noticed Matt nearby.

"Hey, Matt." He ignored her and walked right by them.

"Things just got real awkward." Bonnie commented.

"You said it." Marina told her.

"So, any ideas how you're going to handle it?" Terra asked Caroline.

"He said the ball's in your court."

"Yeah, but I can't do anything about it." Caroline told them.

"Why not? All you do is talk about how much you care about him." Bonnie pointed out.

"Maybe you should just go for it, Care." Lea told her.

"Yeah, but I am still keeping so many secrets."

"Alaric's in the same boat with Jenna and maybe that's our mistake." Elena said. "We're trying to protect the people that we love by keeping them out of it, but in the end, we're hurting them anyway."

"I'm sure she'll forgive him eventually." Marina told her. Caroline headed toward the stage.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked her.

Caroline got up on stage. "Hey, everybody. Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?"

"Is she crazy?" Vanessa whispered.

"So there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy. Um, you know, just 'cause I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about." Caroline said.

"That's it, we have to get her off before she makes more of a fool of herself." Lea said.

"Wait." Marina said. "This might be the only way for her to fix this mess. Give her a chance." Terra nodded.

"Ah, like now, I'm feeling loopy and I don't really know how to express myself. I can sing. Yeah! Yeah. You know what, I'm going to sing." She turned around and whispered something to the singer. A few seconds later, the band started playing and she sang.

"Wow. Who knew she could sing?" Lea said.

"I know." Vanessa turned to her. "She's amazing, isn't she?" Matt headed on stage and kissed her. Everyone cheered.

"She's really good." Vanessa nearly jumped in shock.

"Joe. You're back."

"You really think I'd ditch you just cause your friends interrupted us?"

"Well, it can be a little embarrassing sometimes." Vanessa said. "But they are like family."

"They should be." Joe told her. He put his arm around her waist.

A few minutes later, Lea was talking with the others. "Well, looks like those two finally made up."

"Yeah, I was with Elena." Marina said. "She learned the hard way."

"Whoa, talk about embarrassing." Terra said.

"Almost as embarrassing as interrupting 'Nessa on a date?" Lea asked.

"It's no big deal." Marina said. "And from what I can tell…" She glanced over at Vanessa and Joe, who were dancing together. "He seems like a pretty cool guy."

"I need to check on something." Terra said. She got up and went over to Bonnie. Elena showed up at the same time.

"I... I wouldn't. Caroline and Matt are..."

"In the bathroom?!" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, trust me. I nearly walked in on them myself." Terra told her.

"If they're happy, I'm happy."

"Um, hey, speaking of happy, would it freak you out if I started dating your brother?" Bonnie asked.

"You're into my brother?" Elena asked.

"I know it's weird, um, but he's been so good and strong. It makes me happy and I really can't tell what you're thinking... Right now." Bonnie explained. Terra held her hand.

"I'm thinking that... My brother has had more pain in his life than a hundred people's worth of pain, and... He deserves to be with someone as amazing as you." Elena told her.

"Really?"

"Really." Bonnie hugged her best friend. A few seconds later, Elena's phone rang.

"Hey, Stefan, I'm at the grill. I can't hear you. Hold... yeah." She left.

"I told you it'd be no big deal." Terra said. Then she felt something.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked. The two of them turned around and saw Jonas enter.

"He's angry." Terra whispered. "As Lea would put it, he's like a fire bomb that could go off at any minute."

"Get the girls." Bonnie said. "I'll try to talk him down." Terra found the others nearby and headed over to warn them. Bonnie walked toward Dr. Martin. "Dr. Martin. You okay?" Bonnie asked.

"Where is she?" He asked her.

"I don't understand."

"My son is dead." Dr. Martin explained.

"Whatever it is you think you need to do, there's a better way." Bonnie told him.

"They killed Elijah and they killed Luka and my only shot at getting my daughter back is if I have Elena." Dr. Martin told her.

"No. No, Dr. Martin." Suddenly, some of the lights broke.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her." Bonnie said. Then the rest of the lights broke. The girls ducked.

"Is he insane, trying something like this in public?" Lea asked.

"It doesn't matter." Marina said. "We've got to get out of here and we've got to help everyone escape safely. Nobody will be safe here as long as he's attacking."

"Joe." Vanessa realized. She ran over to him. "Hey."

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, I think I left something in my car and I'm a little scared of the dark." She told him. "Could you come with me, please?"

"No problem." They left the Grill together.

"Caroline's out near the restrooms." Terra told them.

"I'll handle her. You two help everyone else." Lea said. They all ran in a different direction.

Outside, Lea found Caroline, Stefan, and Elena. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"What's going on?" Caroline asked.

"Jonas is here and he's after Elena." Stefan told her.

"Oh, my God!"

"We have a plan, but I need to get Elena out of here."

"Well, what can I do?"

"You can be my back-up." Lea told her. "Come on!" They ran back, where everyone else was running to escape. Terra was trying to help Bonnie and Marina was trying to help a few people get out.

Just then, the bar caught fire. Lea ran over, leaving Caroline surprised. "Watch out!"

"Get back!" Lea used her powers to put the flames out. She looked and saw that Marina was next to her.

"We have to get out of here." Marina told her. "I think we got everyone and the others can handle it from here."

Meanwhile, Bonnie was on the ground. She was struggling. Before Dr. Martin could do anything, Terra had put up an invisible barrier around her and her friend. "How are you doing that?" Bonnie asked her.

"I don't know. I guess it's like a standard shield spell, though, considering all of us can do it." Terra said. Just then, Caroline rushed over to help. "Come on!" She took the shield down and she and Bonnie ran out.

A few minutes later, they all ended up at Elena's house. "How did you forget the directions here?" Lea asked.

"Oh, will you knock it off?" Marina told her. "I'm not Terra, you know. I can't sense where everyplace in town is."

"I'm standing right here." Terra pointed out.

"Luka... I can't believe he's dead." Bonnie was saying. "After what we did to him."

"No, after what he did to you. Look, I'm sorry, I know you feel bad about all of this but I don't." Jeremy said.

"I sort of feel bad about it, though." Terra admitted. "He wasn't a bad person."

"I know." Marina said. "But accidents like this happen sometimes."

"I couldn't do anything to help. I was useless. I hated it." Bonnie said.

"Hey, you held your own pretty well." Lea told her. "Not all witches rely on magic to get out of situations."

"Thank God." Elena and Stefan entered the room.

"It's not over yet." Elena pointed out.

"What's going on?" Jeremy asked.

"He'll explain." Elena said, heading upstairs. As she walked by, Terra felt something. She decided to stay quiet about it.

"When did you guys get home?" Stefan asked.

"A few minutes ago."

"Did you check the house?"

"And why would we check the house?" Jeremy asked.

"He's got a point. I could tell if something were wrong." Terra added.

"I think we should go check something." Marina said. She and Lea headed into the living room, where Damon was.

"What are you…"

"Quiet. We don't want that witch to overhear us." Damon told them. Lea nodded, understanding.

Suddenly, everyone heard something upstairs. Elena came out of hiding. "Weren't you just upstairs?" Lea asked.

"I never went up there."

Upstairs, Terra had joined the rest of the group. "You didn't have to kill him!" Bonnie said.

"Yes, we did."

"She's right, Bonnie. He wouldn't have stopped til all of us were dead." Terra pointed out. Bonnie reached out to touch Dr. Martin's body when he grabbed her. Both girls screamed. Stefan snapped his neck.

"Better make sure he's really dead this time." Terra said, still shaking.

Downstairs, the others were with Damon and Elena. "How did you guys convince her to do this?" Elena asked.

"We didn't. It was actually her idea." Damon told her.

"Wow. That's... Not good."

"No. No, that's not good at all."

"The girl's smart, I'll give her that much." Lea said.

"She did just save you guys, you know." Marina pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." Elena said. "We don't owe her anything."

"Everything's taken care of." Everyone turned to the staircase, where Stefan, Katherine, and Terra appeared.

"I'm guessing you're going to want this back." Katherine handed Elena her necklace. "But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean."

"You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home." Elena pointed out, taking the necklace back.

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"This doesn't change the way I feel about you." Elena said. Lea was glaring at her, but Marina had her hand on her arm and Terra was holding the other one.

"I don't much like you, either, if we're going to be open and frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead but if we're going to try to take on Klaus, we kinda need you to be alive." Katherine told her. "So I'm not a threat to you, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that." She walked out of the room.

"You really think she's being honest about wanting to stop him?" Lea asked later that night. The group met in their small home.

"Well, it kinda is her fault he's after Lena in the first place." Marina said. "But I'm not sure if she can fully be trusted."

"I know." Vanessa said. "We're going to have to be careful around her. She could stab us in the back any time."

"True." Terra said. "Though I think she meant it when she said she wasn't a threat to us."

"Hey, how did things go with you while we were…" Marina began.

"It was fine." Vanessa said. "I came back here after the Grill caught fire. We got separated while heading through the park."

"Good thing he didn't find out. Knowing now would be too dangerous."

"Yeah, it is." Vanessa agreed.


	16. Chapter 16

A few days later, the group was at their meeting house before school. "Okay, we need to get to school." Terra pointed out. "We can't be there to help protect them if we're late."

"Why the heck would they even go to school under these circumstances?" Lea asked. "Doesn't that blow the point of having a safe house?" They knew all about the guys' plan to sign the Boarding House to Elena.

"Well, that's why we're going to be there." Marina said. "If anything goes down at the school, we'll be able to stop it."

"Besides, just cause there's a threat, that doesn't mean we have to stop living." Vanessa added. "And this town is a lot more interesting than I thought it'd be."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"There's no other choice, Lea." Terra said. "Unless you wanna drop out."

"Fine, I'm in." She said. "My mother would kill me if I weren't getting good grades. And trust me, you don't wanna mess with fire."

At the school, Marina and Terra headed to the history classroom. "What kept you guys?" Terra heard Bonnie thinking.

"We had to make sure we were all on the same page." She thought back, taking her seat next to her. Marina sat to Elena's right. Alaric walked in then.

"Hello, class. What are we learning today?"

"Wouldn't he know?" Terra asked in her head.

"I don't even know." Marina thought to her. "I've kinda spaced out the last couple days with Katherine betraying them and all."

"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the sixties all week." A girl said.

"Right. The sixties." He turned to the board. "The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but... Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable."

Terra and Marina looked at each other. Something clearly was not right.

"Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the... we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

"Watergate was the seventies, Ric." Elena said. The whole class looked at her. "I-I mean, Mr. Saltzman."

"Nice cover, Lena." Terra thought.

"Oh, give it a rest, will you?" She thought back.

"Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Elena."

In the cafeteria, Vanessa headed over to the table where Bonnie was talking with Jeremy and the others. "Hey, what's up?"

"She thinks she'll be able to take out Klaus, but the risks are kinda high." Marina explained.

"You mean she managed to do that?" Vanessa asked.

"It wasn't hard. We all sensed them nearby." Lea pointed out.

"You can't harness the power of a hundred dead witches. It'll kill you." Jeremy told Bonnie.

"Shh! We don't know that for certain." Bonnie said. "You promised to keep my secret, I'm trusting you. I'm going through with this, and if you tell anyone, I swear..."

"What? What are you gonna do?"

"Look, Jer's right." Terra said. "You need some kind of protection if you're going to risk…" She cut off as Elena headed over.

"Hey, Jer. How you doing?" Elena asked. "Are you ok at the house alone with John?"

"It's not ideal." Jeremy said.

"You haven't heard from Jenna, have you?" Elena said.

"It looks like she's staying on campus instead of coming home. I'm late for class." He got up and left. Elena sat down.

"Sorry about your aunt." Marina said. She heard all about the fight.

"Well, keeping secrets is hard." Elena said. "I'm surprised no one besides us knows about…"

"Yeah, about that…" Terra began.

"Who did you tell?" Lea asked.

"I didn't. You know who I am talking about." She said.

"Oh." Vanessa said.

"Let me guess, one of you has a sibling?" Bonnie asked. The others nodded.

"Anyway, what's going on?" Elena asked.

"I told him he had to dress up tonight and he got all uptight." Bonnie said.

"Oh."

"Why is it that they always get so uptight about theme parties?" Lea asked.

"You're telling me." Vanessa said. "I love dressing up for those."

"Yeah, she really likes Halloween, too." Marina added. One of the girls from class joined them.

"Hey, Elena, there you are. Ok. This is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight." She told her.

"Tell him she has a boyfriend." Bonnie said.

"Speaking of, where is he?" Vanessa asked in her head.

"I think he went outside to check something." Terra thought.

"You could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus." That got everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Elena asked.

"His name's Klaus." The girl said. "I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot."

"Where is he? Is he here?" Bonnie asked, glancing around.

"I don't feel anything." Terra whispered to her.

"I don't know." Marina looked at the girl.

"Look at her closely." She told Bonnie.

"She's being compelled." Bonnie realized.

"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?"

"Yeah, she already has a date." Lea said. "But we'll tell him she said hi, okay?"

"We'll see you later, Dana." Vanessa told her. She and Lea left so they could head somewhere to talk.

That afternoon, they all met in the Salvatore's living room. "So we go to the dance, we find him." Damon said.

"Really? How are we going to do that?" Stefan asked. "We don't even know what he looks like."

"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply." Damon said.

"No kidding." Vanessa said.

"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school." Stefan turned to the girls. "I guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"

"Please, if he showed himself, we would've kicked his…" Lea began. There was a knock at the door and Alaric came in.

"There you are." Damon said.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Wasn't he supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago?" Marina asked.

"Maybe he got held back grading papers." Terra told her.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move." Damon told him.

"Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena asked.

"Me. I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel." Bonnie said. "If you can find him, I can kill him."

"That's not going to be that easy." Alaric said. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around." Marina and Terra noticed something off about him.

"Alaric has a point." Damon said. "I mean, what if he..." He sped over to Bonnie, but she used her powers to throw him to the other side of the room. Lea started laughing.

"Well, I was impressed." Stefan said.

"That was pretty awesome, though." Vanessa said.

"It doesn't matter if he's an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me." Bonnie said. "I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."

"I think you should let us help anyway." Marina told her.

"Yeah, we're stronger together." Terra added.

"Would you just trust me on this?" Bonnie asked. The girls met with her upstairs.

"Look, we know the risk you're taking, Bonnie."

"If you're trying to stop me, it won't work." Bonnie told them.

"We're not trying to stop you. We're trying to help you." Terra said.

"There might be a way to keep you alive and kill Klaus." Marina said. "But until we find it, we made you this." She handed her a necklace. It was similar to the ones that they all wore, only the stone in the center was clear.

"What is this?" Bonnie asked.

"These pendants protect us from those who try to cause us harm." Terra explained. "As our powers are based around a single element, they're our best chance of surviving a threat."

"We also make pendants to protect others, in case of emergencies or something happens, though it also depends on the individual." Marina continued. "We made this one for you."

"They also help us with our powers sometimes." Lea added.

"It's nice, but I don't know if it'll go with what I'm wearing." Bonnie told them.

"Just keep it on you." Vanessa said. "You don't have to wear it, you could keep it in your pocket or something."

"You really think I can do this?"

"Of course we do." Marina said. "You're like one of us, Bonnie. We aren't just going to give up."

"Thanks." Bonnie said. "I have to go home and change for the dance tonight." She hurried downstairs.

"Speaking of which, we better get going too." Vanessa said. "We can't go undercover and not wear the appropriate attire."

"As much as it annoys me, she's right." Lea said. "Let's get this over with."

The girls met up outside the school. "Whoa, uh, Terra, Nessa, you two sure you've got the right decade?" Marina asked. She was wearing a light blue dress with sleeves and silver belt around the waist.

"For the record, I'm not the one dressed like a disco ball." Terra pointed out. She was wearing a green dress similar to Marina's, only instead of a heart shape, her belt had a flower.

"Speak for yourselves." Vanessa said. Her dress was pale yellow with a lot of silver sequins and sparkles sewn in.

"Seriously, we enemies waiting and you're arguing about fashion choices?" Lea said. "Not that there were any good ones back then, but still." She was wearing a red dress with detached sleeves.

"When did you become the voice of reason?" Marina asked.

"When I realized if we don't go through with this, then this season's bad guy will probably kill all of us." Lea told them.

Bonnie came over to them. "Hey, guys."

"Where's your date?" Marina asked.

"Right here." Jeremy said, coming up behind her.

"Okay, we just need to wait for the others to get here." Marina said.

"Hang on." Jeremy took his ring off. "Look, I, um, I want you to have this."

"If you're asking me to go steady, I think that was the fifties." Bonnie said.

"No, I'm serious, Bonnie." Jeremy told her.

"The ring won't work on me, Jeremy."

"But it was made by a witch." He pointed out.

"To protect from the supernatural, not for someone who is." Bonnie said.

"Hate to say it, but she's right." Terra said. "They were made to protect humans from supernatural enemies, there's a very low chance it'd work on a witch."

"Well, I have to do something. I can't just... I can't just let you get yourself killed." Jeremy said.

"Just because a bunch of dead witches gave me a warning doesn't mean I'm going to die." Bonnie told him.

"So you're saying there's a 50-50 shot you won't?" Jeremy asked. "Look, I'm sorry. But... you know I don't have the best luck in the girlfriend department."

"Hey. Listen, I... I can't explain it. But I can feel them. I'm empowered, Jeremy, I can do this. I know I can. I'm strong enough." Bonnie said.

"And we'll be there with her." Vanessa pointed out. "If anything happens, we'll be able to give her some help."

"They're here." Terra said, interrupting the moment. Bonnie looked up from Jeremy.

"Damon." The group turned around to find they were all there.

"Evening." Elena and Stefan headed over to the others.

"Hey, you two. Oh, you look nice." Elena said, hugging Bonnie.

"You too." Bonnie said.

"You guys ready to do this?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Lea said.

The group entered the gym, where the dance was taking place. "Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight. This is for Elena. From Klaus."

That surprised the whole group. "That was a lame, cheap shot. He's just trying to bait us." Damon said, trying to relieve the tension.

"Seriously, who does that anymore, anyway?" Lea added. "This isn't Total Request Live."

"I know everyone here." Elena pointed out.

"Maybe he's not here. Just wants us to believe that he is." Stefan told her.

"No, I feel a faint trace of darkness, but I can't tell where it's coming from." Terra said. "He must be here somewhere."

"How are you gonna find him if you're tracker's blocked?" Vanessa asked.

"Just cause Earth is my element, that doesn't mean I can always trace people. Even my powers have limits."

"It's a party, people. Blend. Let him come to us." Damon said.

"Good idea." Bonnie said. She took Jeremy's arm.

"No, no, I really don't feel like dancing." He protested.

"Too bad." Bonnie said.

"Mind if I have this dance?" Vanessa nearly jumped when she saw Joe. She was really that freaked.

"Okay." She went with him, but made sure to stay in sight of the group.

"There's Ric. I'll be back." Damon told them.

"I'm going to go with him." Lea said. "It's a good idea if we all keep an eye out for each other."

"Careful." Marina said.

"Always."

"Remember the last time you said that?" Terra asked.

"When are you ever gonna let that go, Terri?" Lea asked.

"When you finally separate your anger from your powers." Terra told her. Lea walked over to Damon and Alaric.

"Special dedication, huh? This guy's a little twisted."

"I'm not impressed." Damon said.

"No?"

"Please, it's one of the lamest guy moves I've ever seen." Lea said.

"Let me know if you see anything out of whack." Damon told him. They left.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll pick up on it if something happens." Lea said as they headed back to the others.

"Right." Damon said. "You wanna dance?"

"What? No!" Lea said. "I mean…okay, I can't dance."

"Really? I thought you were a great dancer."

"I lied." Lea admitted. "I had a few lessons, but it didn't stick."

"Alright, just follow my lead." He told her. She nodded. This really wasn't the time to argue with him.

"I can't remember the last time I saw Lea dance." Marina said, watching from a few feet.

"Well, she grew up kinda lonely." Terra pointed out. "She didn't want to embarrass herself more." They noticed Caroline and Matt show up. "I'm getting weird vibe from Matt." Terra said.

"They don't know what's going on." Elena realized. "We have to tell her."

"I'm on it." Stefan told her. Lea went over to the girls as Damon headed over to Elena.

"You looked good out there." Marina said.

"You weren't supposed to see that." Lea said.

"Actually, you looked different. You looked…happier." Marina told her.

"Well, I haven't exactly had a good time since we moved here." Lea pointed out. "It helps that it takes some of the stress off. That stupid meditation Terra had me doing, wasn't working."

"You should dance more often." Marina said. "I took a few classes, maybe I could help you out."

"It would be nice to get back to it again." Lea admitted.

Terra and Stefan went over to Matt and Caroline. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, man, what's up?" Matt asked.

"Hey. Do you mind if I steal your date for a moment?" Stefan asked him.

"No, not all. I'll get us something to drink."

"Thanks." Terra followed Matt.

"Are you okay?" Joe asked as he spun Vanessa in. "You seem a little…distracted."

"Yeah, it's that stupid dedication." Vanessa told him. "I don't know the guy personally, but my friend from before says he's a stalker. I'm worried about Elena."

"I can't stand guys like that." Joe said. "You better make sure your friend's okay."

"Thanks for understanding." Vanessa walked back to the group.

Terra was talking to Matt. "So, what's up with you and Caroline?"

"I found out a few things about her." Matt told her. "Things she'd been hiding from me. But I don't know what to do about it."

So that explained his sudden shift in energy. Terra thought. He knows. "Look, I might not know what's going on," She told him. "But if Caroline was hiding whatever it was, it's probably because she's trying to protect the people she cares about." She left to find Bonnie.

She found her with Jeremy and the rest of the group. Jeremy left when Damon showed up. "You heard Jeremy and me talking, didn't you?" Bonnie asked.

"Is it true?" Damon asked.

"Yes."

"The part about you having a 50-50 shot of surviving? Is that true?"

"I knew it. You were eavesdropping!" Lea said.

"Well, it was important." Marina pointed out.

"He was upset. I didn't want him to worry." Bonnie explained.

"So you lay it out on the line for Elena, no matter what." Damon said.

"No matter what."

"Yeah, but she's under our protection." Terra added. "Even if she did attempt something dangerous, she'd live through it."

"Really?" Bonnie asked.

"You'd be surprised." Vanessa said. "I was protected from a bad storm once because of it."

"Remember, we can't tell Elena." Bonnie said. Marina nodded and walked away.

"Your secret's safe with me." Damon told her.

"And us." Vanessa added.

Marina found Stefan and Jeremy in the hallway. "I don't know what else to do." Jeremy was saying.

"Hey." Marina said. "Look, if you're worried about Bonnie, don't be."

"There's a chance she could die." Jeremy pointed out.

"Stefan, can you give us a minute?" Marina asked. Stefan nodded and left them. "Look, Bonnie's not going to go through it alone. And even if she did use all that power, she's protected like us." She showed him her pendant. "We have these stones to protect us from enemies of any kind."

"Are you saying she has a stone like that, too?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes." Marina said. "But this has to be our secret." Jeremy nodded, understanding.

Outside, Terra found Bonnie and Elena arguing. "How could you not tell me?

"'Cause I knew how'd you react." Bonnie said.

"No. No way, it's not an option."

"It's our only option."

"Then we'll find another way, okay? Bonnie, you're not dying to save my life."

"I have the power to save you! If I don't use it and something happens, that would kill me more."

"I can't let you."

"Elena." Terra's voice startled the girls.

"How can you be okay with this?" Elena asked.

"We're going to help her." Terra said. "If we use our powers with hers, it will possibly remove the danger of her dying."

"I still think it's too risky."

"I have to do this, Elena." Bonnie said. "It's the only choice we have." Elena looked at them.

Marina and Jeremy were walking back to the gym, when a few guys stopped them. "What's going on, guys?" Jeremy asked.

"You okay, Gilbert? You don't look so good."

"Dude, seriously? Wrong day, wrong guy."

"Be careful, Jeremy." Marina told him. "I don't sense any emotions from these guys."

"What does that mean?" Jeremy asked, getting a bad feeling.

"They've been compelled." Marina said. The guys started fighting. She stood back and tried to pull Jeremy away as Stefan and Damon showed up, with Lea.

One of the guys fired a stake, but Damon caught it. "Let me guess... Klaus says hi."

"Some welcome." Marina said. She went over to see if Jeremy was okay. Stefan and Lea managed to take down two of the guys. Stefan looked impressed.

"How'd you learn to fight like that?"

"I've taken self-defense and several martial arts classes." Lea told them.

"Yeah, she and Terra are the best fighters in our group." Marina said. "Though we are getting better." Damon caught one of the guys they were fighting.

"No, don't kill him. He's compelled." Stefan pointed out.

"So?"

"So, the whole thing's a distraction. Go find Bonnie and Elena."

"We can handle this, Damon." Lea told him. Marina helped Jeremy up and headed back to the gym as Damon left.

Outside, Terra was with the girls when Alaric came over. "Elena!"

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"He has Jeremy." Alaric told them.

"What?"

"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy. Come on." They followed him into the school. Terra could sense that Jeremy was in the gym with Marina.

"Okay, so where are you taking us?" Elena asked.

"Just a little further." Alaric said.

"Wait, something's not right." Elena realized.

"Where's Jeremy?" Bonnie asked.

"He's safe." Terra told them. "This is a trap."

"How observant." Alaric said, turning around. "I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties. Not my decade. I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."

"Alaric. Are you on vervain?"

"Now why would you ask me that question, Elena?" Alaric asked. Terra felt as though the earth was trying to warn her just then and wondered if the rest of her group could feel it, too.

"He's being compelled." Bonnie told her.

"Nope. Try again."

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"I think I know what's wrong here." Terra told them.

"Okay, I'll give you a hint. I am not Alaric." Terra looked at him, knowing that's why things felt off.

"I should've known it was you." She said.

"Klaus." Elena realized.

"Surprise!"

"Oh, no. No, it's not possible."

"I've heard of body possession before, but I've never seen it till now." Terra said.

"Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight." Klaus told her. He turned to Bonnie. "But you are." Bonnie used her powers to throw him back. He got up "Now, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that." Suddenly, he was thrown back into a display case.

The girls turned. "Vanessa!" Terra said as she ran over to them. "How'd you find us?"

"It wasn't hard. I was in the gym went it felt as though the wind was filled with dark energy. I knew something was wrong, so I ran out here as fast as I could." She explained.

Klaus was getting up. The girls turned. "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy."

"Go. Run. Run!" Bonnie called to Elena. Vanessa took Elena and they ran off. Terra used her powers push him back to the ground, then ran after them with Bonnie. The four of them ran down the hallway and Bonnie shut the door with her powers. They ran into Damon.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body." Elena said.

"What?"

"He's possessing it or something."

"We need to do something, fast." Terra said.

"Go find Stefan. Now."

"Okay." Elena left.

"Better call the others, too." Vanessa said. While she was messing with her pendant, the others were talking.

"Can you kill him?" Damon asked.

"He's got some kind of protection spell." Bonnie told him.

"You have the power of a hundred witches. Break it." Damon said.

"I'm trying! If I kill Alaric, he'll just possess someone else." Bonnie said. "He knows I have my power, Damon. He's trying to kill me."

"I've been trying, too. It's too strong for one witch, even an element based one." Terra said.

"No. Klaus does not get to win tonight, no way. You still willing to do whatever it takes to kill him?"

"Damon, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking." Vanessa said. "Lea would kill you for sure."

"It has to be done. Besides, we can help." Terra told her.

"What's your idea?"

A few minutes later, Bonnie entered the hallway alone. She knew the girls' plan would work. She found Klaus waiting for her. "What took you so long? Now, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?" She used her powers to take the knife out of his hand, surprising him. "The hard way. Got it." He got up, but she used her powers to stop him "What? You'd kill your favorite history teacher?"

"It's what Alaric would want. And he'd want you to suffer first." Bonnie said. She was starting to get a nosebleed, when she felt the elements rush to her. She knew she could handle this now.

"Is that all you got?"

"Let's find out."

In the hallway, Marina and Lea joined Stefan, Elena, Vanessa, and Damon. "There you are."

"What are you doing? Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"She's doing what she has to do."

"What?"

"You didn't." Lea said.

"Where is she?" Stefan asked.

"She will be okay." Vanessa told them. "Let her do this."

"Girls…" Marina said. She was looking at her pendant. The stone was glowing. Lea and Vanessa checked theirs. They were glowing, too.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know." Marina said. "Our pendants specifically only glow when we're either using a lot of power or if we're doing a spell together…mainly if it's a really strong one."

"It also happens when we combine our powers together, even with a normal witch." Vanessa added. While the others took off, the girls remained behind.

"Wait, where's Terra?"

"She must've followed her." Vanessa said. "Come on!"

Outside the room, Terra was using her powers to shield Bonnie from a distance. She heard everyone else arrive. "What's going on?" Lea asked.

"I'm trying to help." Terra told them. "We all are." Stefan and Elena showed up and watched as Bonnie tried to fight Klaus off. The door was locked.

"It's no use." Marina said, touching the door. "It's spelled shut." Bonnie turned and noticed Elena. Suddenly, she collapsed. Everyone rushed into the room at once, narrowly avoiding colliding into each other.

Elena held Bonnie while Terra and Marina went to check on her. Stefan looked to see if there was any sign of Klaus. "He was never here." Terra told him, looking up at him. "It was an illusion spell."

"Stefan, she's not breathing!"

Vanessa looked at her. Lea joined the other witches. "I can still feel her life force."

"So can I." Marina said. "She must've overexerted herself."

"What are you saying?" Elena asked.

"She's in a coma." Lea said. "At least, I think she is."

"For how long?" Elena asked.

"We don't know." Vanessa said. "She might wake up, but it's too soon to tell right now." Elena burst into tears as Damon entered the room.

"Stefan, get Elena out of here. I'll deal with this." Damon said.

"I don't think so. She's our friend. We'll deal with it." Lea told him.

"Look, we can't let anyone find out about this." Damon pointed out.

"Okay, how about we go with Elena and you three help Bonnie?" Marina asked. The girls nodded in agreement. Stefan helped Elena up.

"What about Jeremy?" Elena asked.

"I'll find him." Damon told her. Stefan and Marina left with Elena, Lea following shortly afterward.

"That was a close one." Vanessa said.

"Yeah, now we better get her out of here." Terra said. "Take her to the car. I'm going to find Jeremy and tell him what happened."

"We'll meet back at their house, right?" Vanessa asked. Terra nodded.

At the Salvatore's, Marina was sitting next to Elena. "Hey, I'm sure she'll wake up soon, Elena." Lea was sitting in a chair across the room. Stefan showed up with a glass.

"Hey. Here, drink this."

"I can't."

"Yeah. Yeah, you can." Elena took the glass from him, but began to cry again. Marina put a hand and her arm.

"This is my fault."

"No, no, no, no, no. No. Hey. This was Klaus. Listen to me. Klaus did this."

"I don't like it anymore than you guys." Marina said.

"It's because they listened to him." Lea said. As if on cue, Damon entered, with Terra and Vanessa.

"What did you do with her?" Elena demanded.

"Will you please calm her down?" Damon asked Stefan.

"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you." Elena said.

"She deserves the truth after all this, you know…" Lea said, getting up and walking over to him. Terra got in front of her.

"You need to know something." Terra thought to her. Lea was listening to her over Elena's voice.

"You knew! Didn't you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that something like this would happen, didn't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I knew." Damon told her. The room was stunned silent as Elena slapped him. Marina looked surprised.

"You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say." Damon said. "Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that."

"None of us were." Terra added.

"And he wasn't going to stop, and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead or worse. He had to believe it."

Just then, the girls pendants flashed briefly before going back to normal. "Bonnie…" Marina said.

"She's okay." Lea realized. "She's awake." She turned to Damon. Then she slapped him.

"What was that for?"

"For making the rest of us think she was gone, even for a while." Lea said. "It's true we aren't like the traditional witches, but we still care about the ones we've become friends with." Damon left the room. Stefan followed him out. While Elena was on the phone, the others talked.

"Well, at least she's safe and everyone survived tonight." Marina said.

"Speak for yourself." Vanessa said, throwing her hat down. "That protection spell was hard to keep up. If I hadn't used my powers, she really could've been sleeping."

"I'm just glad she's okay." Lea told her. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"We didn't have time, with Klaus trying to kill Bonnie and all." Vanessa pointed out.

"How will we keep them both safe, though?" Marina asked. "I'd hate for either one to die for the other."

"We'll figure this out." Terra said. "We won't let either of them get hurt."


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, Marina woke up to her phone ringing. By the time she checked, she had a voicemail from Stefan. She got up and called him. "Stefan, it's Marina. What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you'd seen Elena."

"Not since last night." Marina told him. "Why?"

"We think she's with…"

"You CANNOT be serious!" Lea shouted, storming into the Boarding House, followed by the rest of the group.

"Lea, calm down." Terra said. "If Elena were in any danger, we would know."

"She's with an Original, Terra, don't tell me to calm down."

"At least we're not the ones panicking." Vanessa pointed out. The Salvatores showed up then.

"A little warning for next time: never call Lea early in the morning, especially if there's bad news." Marina told them. "She's so not a morning person."

"Okay, okay, I think I'm good now." Lea told the girls. "What happened? And give us the short version."

"We think Elena undaggered Elijah and now they've both gone missing." Damon told the group.

"And neither of you thought to try and call her to see if she's okay?" Marina asked. They looked at each other. "Why are guys so slow?"

"Who knows, Marina." Terra pointed out.

A few minutes later, they were on the phone. The line went dead, from what Vanessa and Terra could tell. "Did she just hang up on you?" Damon asked.

"She did." Stefan told him.

"She's lost it."

"If anyone can get him to help us kill Klaus, it's her."

"Bonnie's the way to kill Klaus, Stefan. He thinks she's dead or whatever. We have a chance with her."

"Not at this rate, we won't." Vanessa said. "Even if we helped her, the spell requires a lot of power. The energy drain could effect her."

"That's why Elena's looking for another way." Stefan told him.

"Her way's going to get her killed. So we need to find her and stop her." Damon got up.

"No, you need to back off."

"What?"

"Look, I don't like this any more than you do. But we need to trust her. We gotta just let her do her thing."

"That might be your plan. Mine's better."

"I said back off." Stefan left the room.

"He's right, though. Elena's sort of a part of this group, too, Damon. We need to trust her." Marina said.

"I can try to find her." Terra said. "If it'll make you feel any better." She closed her eyes and focused.

"How is she?" Marina asked.

"She's fine. Elijah's with her, but she's okay." Terra told them.

"What are they doing?" Lea asked her.

"Okay, just cause I can track people, that doesn't mean I know exactly what they're up to at the moment." Terra said. "No wonder they left. They needed to talk privately."

A few minutes later, the phone started ringing. Stefan answered it. "Hello?" Jenna, hey." The group looked at each other.

"She still doesn't know what's going on." Marina said.

"Too bad we don't have advanced hearing like those two." Lea said.

"I'm picking up parts of the conversation, but it's like there's static or something blocking out every other word." Vanessa told them. She was holding her pendant.

"Elena's not here at the moment. Is, uh, is everything ok?" Vanessa used her powers on the pendant. It started to flash as they heard Jenna's voice.

"She left me all these weird messages telling me to stay away from Ric. What's going on?"

"It's really hard to explain over the phone, but, um, she was hoping that you could stay on campus for a little while longer." Stefan told her.

"Oh, that's kinda hard to do from my kitchen." The girls looked at each other.

"Wait, you're home?"

"Yeah. What's going on? Where's Elena? I'm supposed to meet Rick at the grill for lunch, to talk."

"Jenna, listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, do not meet Alaric at the grill. I'm going to come over right now and I'll explain everything." Stefan hung up.

"This is really bad." Terra said.

"Thank you, captain obvious." Lea told her. "What should we do about it?"

"Wait, wait, we can't all just burst in there and tell her what's going on." Marina said. "She'll think we're insane or worse, actually believe us and panic." The group turned to Damon.

"Wow, I'd love to lend you a hand, but you wouldn't want me doing anything stupid."

"It's seriously going to be like this?" Stefan asked him.

"You and your girlfriend are calling the shots. I'm just backing off, Stefan."

"Okay, there's backing off, and then there's being a jerk." Lea said. "Trust me, I know the difference."

"Well, if you're not going to help, I guess we're out." Terra said. She and Marina left the room, passing Andie on the way out.

"Hi."

"Hi." Lea rolled her eyes. She thought it was wrong that he was compelling her.

"Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Splitting from the team. Going rogue. Come on." Damon said.

"Uh, not so fast." Lea said. "I don't like where this is going. I'm following you guys."

"Whoa, Lea, hang on." Vanessa said. "I'm not letting you go with him alone. Chances are you'll set him on fire before you get there."

"Whatever. If you two are coming, fine. It's not like we have all day to argue." Lea and Vanessa looked at each other, then left with them.

A few minutes later, they were outside Alaric's apartment. "Whoa. Where are we?" Vanessa asked.

"Ric's apartment." Damon told them. "And if we're right…" Andie was already knocking on the door before he could finish that statement.

"Alaric, are you home?" She called. "It's Andie Starr, Jenna's friend."

"I hear someone moving toward the door." Vanessa told them. Then she sighed. "They stopped."

"Why wouldn't they open the door?"

"Originals can compel almost anyone." Damon told them. "Including vampires."

"Well, a stuck door won't stop us." Vanessa said. She forced a small wind toward the door at the same time Damon pushed it open. They found Katherine sitting there.

"Thank god."

Andie entered the room. "Wow! You were right. She looks exactly like Elena." Vanessa entered the room, followed by a reluctant Lea.

"Seriously, you brought us to see your ex?" Lea asked. She was pretty annoyed.

"No." He turned to Katherine. "Thought you might be dead."

"Unfortunately not." Katherine said.

"I can fix that."

"Lea, not now." Vanessa said.

"Wow, you really do have Cassie's temper, don't you?" Katherine said. Lea looked stunned.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"Please, Emily was my maid, remember? And I'd never have moved without learning who everyone was at that time." Katherine pointed out.

"So you've known about us the entire time and pretended not to?" Vanessa said. "Wow. You really are as deceiving as Molly described."

Back at Marina's, Terra went into her bedroom. "Marina. I think we've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"I've picked up three people inside Elena's house when I was walking by." Terra said. "I think Klaus is in there, still possessing Ric's body."

"So, that means Jenna's in trouble."

"Not necessarily. Stefan's there, too." Terra told her. "But there's no way to protect her without her finding out about them." They looked at each other.

"We should get back there." Marina said. "She'll need our support."

Back at Ric's apartment, the girls were all in the room, while Damon stayed outside the doorway. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" Katherine asked them.

"We are here to rescue you." Andie told her.

"No, sweetie. We are here to see if she deserves to be rescued." Damon corrected. Lea rolled her eyes. She still couldn't stand the fact that he was using Andie in the first place.

"After everything she's done to you guys, I'm surprised we're here trying to help her." Vanessa said.

"I figured you still might be kicking." Damon told Katherine. "Alari-Klaus was blending way too easily. Figured he probably had some coaching." He took a small vial out of his pocket.

"Is that..."

"Vervain. Your salvation."

"It's not going to undo anything." Katherine said.

"There's always a loophole." Damon pointed out. "Did he tell you to stay in this apartment until he said it was okay to leave?" She didn't say anything. "You can't say. Did he tell you to do absolutely everything he says until the end of time?"

"No." She said.

"There's your loophole. Drink this and prevent any further compulsion."

"Seriously, why are we helping her to begin with?" Lea asked.

"Cause if we need her one day, she might actually help us for once instead of stabbing us in the back." He told her.

"Hey, I didn't think you could stand a chance against Klaus, so I was looking out for myself." Katherine told him.

"And where did that get you?" Damon pointed out. "Here." He handed the vial of vervain to her. "Be careful with that. If he finds out you have that, you're never getting out of here."

"Would that really be a bad thing?" Lea asked.

"Considering that even she wants Klaus dead, I'd say yes." Vanessa said.

"Oh, never thought of it like that."

"You owe me. And I will collect." Damon told her. "Let's go." The girls left the apartment.

At the Boarding House, Elena walked into the library and found Marina with Jenna. They both looked up. "She's okay. She got out safe, but she's really shaken up." Marina told her.

"Oh, Jenna, thank God." Elena went in and sat next to her aunt.

"No."

"I never meant for any of this to happen." Marina got up and left the room, knowing they'd need privacy. She headed into the hallway and met up with Terra.

"Hey." Terra said.

"Well, they're gonna need time alone."

"I don't think they're as alone as they think they are." Terra said. "Why don't you head upstairs? I'm going to check something." Marina nodded and walked off.

Terra walked around the corner and found Stefan listening in. "You know this isn't your fault, right?" She told him. He looked over at her. "If Klaus hadn't possessed our teacher, none of this would've happened."

"Even if that's true, I'm the one who revealed my powers to her."

"She would've found out anyway." Terra pointed out. "It's never easy, revealing the truth about yourself to someone. When I first met the girls, I could tell something was off and ended up showing them my powers on accident."

"True, but then you found out they were witches, too." Stefan pointed out.

"I'm just saying, we've all been there before." Terra said.

Elena walked into the hallway. Terra had gone back into the library to talk with Jenna and Marina had returned. "Is she gonna be okay?" Stefan asked.

"She's in shock. I tried to tell her as much as I could, but I barely scratched the surface." Elena told him.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. I hate this."

"It's not your fault, Stefan. It's mine. Anyway... I have to go back to Elijah."

"Wait, what?"

"You've gotta be kidding." Terra said.

"Stefan, I promised him that I would return. I can't break that promise." Elena told them. "I'll be okay." She headed toward the door the second Damon and the rest of the group got back.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"Back to Elijah."

"Are you crazy?" Lea asked.

"No."

"Get out of my way, Dam..." He grabbed her arm.

"Whoa, guys!" Vanessa tried to intervene.

"It's okay." Marina said. "I'll go with her. I'll make sure nothing happens."

"You sure about this?" Terra asked.

"Yes. It's the only way we can figure this out, Terra." Marina pointed out.

"Okay, good luck."

"Damon, let go of her." Lea said. He released Elena's arm, but only because he felt something zap his own arm. He looked at Lea. "Uh, yeah, that wasn't me this time." Marina and Elena left the house.

Marina looked around at the Lockwood's garden. "So this is where you've been?"

They found Elijah waiting for them. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Who's your friend?"

"It's okay. She's a supernatural, too." Elena explained.

"The guys wouldn't let her leave unless I went with her." Marina told him. "As though she's in danger here."

"Anyway, how are we supposed to stop him?"

"Breaking the curse is the only way."

"But won't Elena die?" Marina asked.

"Not necessarily. There's a part of the story I haven't told you. I found a way to spare Katerina from her death."

"You found a way to save the life of the doppelganger?" Elena asked.

"Yes, Elena. I did. But unfortunately, Katerina took matters into her own hands."

"And look where that got us." Marina said.

"You cared about her, didn't you?" Elena asked as they got up and started to leave.

"It's a common mistake, I told." Elijah said. "And it's one I won't make again."

"Sorry to disagree here. Caring about someone isn't a mistake." Marina said as they walked off together. "It makes you…well, human. Sort of."

"If only that were true."

"I'm just saying. I know a lot of vampires don't hold onto their humanity, but yours seems pretty strong." Marina said.

At the Boarding House, the girls were watching as the guys argued. "This is not going to end well at all." Terra said.

"When does anything with Damon ever end well?" Lea asked.

"You two are really no better than them right now." Vanessa pointed out. Suddenly, they started fighting.

"Whoa! Guys…" Terra began.

"Forget it, they're beyond reasoning now." Vanessa said. "We've gotta stop them." The three of them ran into the room. "This better work." She used her powers to separate the two of them. Before they could go at it again, they looked down and realized they couldn't move.

"Nice work, Terra." Lea told her.

"It took me a while to learn that one." Terra said.

"Yeah, but how long can you keep that up?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know." Her concentration broke as Marina, Elena, and Elijah walked into the room.

"Stop!" Everyone was looking at the group that just walked in.

"What the heck just happened?" Marina asked.

"Oh, the usual." Lea told her as she joined them.

"You invited him in?"

"Like we had a choice, Damon." Marina said. "Besides, we're all on the same side here."

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal." Elena explained.

"Really?"

"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands." Elijah told them. "I only ask for one thing in return."

"What?"

"An apology."

"Uh oh." Vanessa whispered.

"Yeah, sorry man, this guy's not so big on apologizing." Lea said.

"I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death." Stefan told him. "I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."

"Correction: We will always protect Elena." Terra pointed out.

"I understand."

"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life." Elena told him. "I told you I'd find another way. And I did."

"Is that true?"

"Yes." Marina said. "But if something goes wrong, the four of us will be able to stop it."

"So, you're actually trusting him?"

"We are." Elena said.

"You can all go to hell." He left the room angrily.

"He's angry with me right now. But he'll come around." Stefan said.

"Perhaps." Elijah said. Lea left the room to go after Damon. On her way up, she saw Andie running out.

"What the hell is you're problem?" Lea asked him. "I know you've got trust issues, but we're all doing this."

"We can't take the chance that she might die."

"Well, my sisters and I can't let Elena or Bonnie die." Lea said. "This way, they both get to live. Why can't you see that?"

"I can't do this anymore. I feel like the only one who knows this is going to blow up in our faces."

"You don't know that for sure." Lea said. "And I suggest you talk to someone who actually gets visions before you begin making assumptions again." She headed into the hallway.

"You alright?" Marina asked her.

"He just makes me so angry."

"He makes everybody angry." Marina pointed out. "But I'm sure he'll get over it."

"Maybe. He's so unpredictable."

"We better get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."


	18. Chapter 18

The girls met up at their safe house the next morning. "Okay, so what's their plan?" Vanessa asked.

"From what I know of, it seems the only way to defeat him is if they let him break the curse." Marina said.

"But then Elena will be dead." Terra pointed out.

"No, she won't be. Elijah found a way to save her life years ago." Marina told them. "Well, technically, it was to save Katherine, but she fled and turned before that could happen."

"How do we know we can trust him?" Terra asked.

"Because he wants to kill Klaus just as much as we do." Marina said.

"So, where do we come in?" Lea asked.

"We help Bonnie weaken him as soon as the curse breaks."

"Should we get into position in case anything happens?" Terra asked.

"That's a good idea, Terra. That way if anything goes wrong, we can find a way to stop it." Vanessa said.

"So, what would we do if that did happen?" Lea asked. "Would we finish him ourselves or just try to block the curse from activating?"

"We'll figure this out." Terra said. After a few minutes of discussing what to do, Marina's phone rang.

"Hello?" She listened, her expression growing concerned. "We'll be right there."

"What is it?"

"She said Mr. Saltzman's been un-possessed by Klaus and to meet them at the Salvatore's place." Marina told them.

The girls met with the rest of the group in the living room. "You think it's really him?" Vanessa asked. Terra looked at him and felt like everything was normal.

"Yeah, it's him, alright."

"Okay, can someone give us the brief summary of why he's here?" Lea asked.

"He said Klaus let him go and that he wanted to give us a message." Stefan told them.

"The sacrifice is going down tonight." Elena told them.

"Tonight? That doesn't give us a lot of time, does it?" Marina asked the others.

"Come on, girls. We've managed to handle it under worse circumstances." Terra said.

"Terra's right." Vanessa said. "We'll figure this out."

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked.

"No. It's like I blacked out and woke up 3 days later. Katherine was there." Alaric said.

"She's under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can." Stefan explained.

"Or if tonight's plan works." Lea said. Then she cursed and turned to the girls. "I jinxed it, didn't I?"

"I don't believe in any of that good luck bad luck crap." Marina said.

"Neither do I."

"Same here."

"Where is Damon?" Elena asked.

"I saw him go upstairs." Jenna told her.

"So what else did I do?" Alaric asked the group.

"Well, as you can probably tell, Jenna knows everything." Marina said.

"And Bonnie almost died, but we managed to prevent that from happening." Terra added.

"So, how did she find out?"

"Yeah, I think that's a topic for…" Suddenly, there was a muffled scream from upstairs. The witches got to their feet immediately, as well as Stefan. The five of them rushed upstairs immediately.

"Which way?"

"Damon's room." Terra said. "I can sense a struggle."

Vanessa and Stefan managed to get there first. "How'd you…"

"I was the fastest runner at my old school, then my powers kicked in." Vanessa explained quickly. "I can use the wind to pick up speed, reach high places, it's not too different from your powers."

The rest of the girls arrived as Stefan pushed Damon to the ground. Elena fell on the floor, so Vanessa and Marina went to her side. "You okay?" Marina asked. Elena seemed too shocked to respond.

"There's no injuries." Terra said. They helped her to her feet. It was then they noticed a trace of blood near her mouth.

"You're so bent on dying, at least this way I know you'll come back." Damon said.

"As a vampire!" Stefan pointed out. "She'll come back a vampire."

"It's better than nothing else." Damon told him.

"You are such a jerk!" Lea yelled. Terra and Vanessa restrained her immediately.

"Lea, I don't think that's going to help the situation." Terra said.

"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Go ahead, wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it." Suddenly, they started fighting.

"Stefan!" Elena yelled.

"Should we do something about this?" Lea asked.

"This isn't going to end well." Vanessa said.

"We have to stop them." Terra said. The girls looked at each other.

Suddenly, they were thrown apart by a gust of wind. Marina was holding onto Elena, trying to keep her out of the fray.

"Enough! We need to figure out how to prevent this from happening." Terra told them. Alaric and Jenna showed up at that moment. While the fight hadn't lasted long, Stefan was still badly hurt.

"What the hell's going on?" Alaric asked.

"Just get him out of here…" Elena breathed. Damon left the room then. Lea followed him out.

"We'll find a way to keep you normal." Terra told Elena before she went after Lea.

"Oh, my God." Jenna said.

"Okay, Jenna, downstairs are some blood bags. Go get them now." Alaric told her. Jenna left the room.

"I better help her." Vanessa said. She left the room, leaving Marina with the group.

Downstairs, Damon went into the library. Elijah was putting something away. "Well, it sounds like you won't be needing this anymore. Feeding her vampire blood rendered it useless." He told him. "Tell Elena I'll be back before nightfall. We'll proceed as planned."

"We both know that elixir wouldn't have worked anyway." Damon said.

"The problem, Damon, you talk a good game but you don't actually know anything." Elijah told him. "She'll never forgive you. And never for a vampire, is a very long time." He walked out of the room.

"I know you're there, girls." Damon said. Terra and Lea entered the room.

"I really have no idea what to say about this." Lea told him. "He pretty much just said it all. Just…what in the world were you thinking? She doesn't want to be like you guys."

"You think I would've done this if I'd known that?" He asked her.

"Look, we all know it was a bad idea." Terra said. "But maybe we can fix it."

"I doubt it." Damon walked out of the room. Lea almost felt bad for him.

"Lea, you and the others get the grimoires and contact Bonnie." Terra said. "Try to see if there's a way to prevent her from turning."

"Where will you be?"

"I'm going to talk with him." Terra said. "It seems like he needs another friend right now, and all of you people seem to hate him." She walked out of the room. As Lea watched her leave, she wondered if she had been too critical of Damon lately.

Everyone else was in Stefan's room. Marina had managed to heal the more major injuries by the time Jenna and Vanessa returned with the blood bags.

"We'll be downstairs." Alaric told them. He and Jenna left. Vanessa looked at Marina from the doorway.

"Hey, we've got some work to do." Lea said.

"We'll be right there." Vanessa said. "Meet us downstairs as soon as you can." She left the area.

"I want you to go somewhere with me." Stefan told Elena.

"Stefan, I can't." She told him.

"No, no, it's not far, ok? It's just for the day. I promise."

"I'm sorry to break this up." Marina said, coming over to them. "Stefan, could I have a few minutes with Elena?" They looked at each other for a second.

"Of course." Stefan said. He left the room.

"What's up?" Elena asked. Marina sat down next to her.

"Look, we're going to look for a way to keep this from happening to you." Marina said. "But there's something you need to know either way."

"What is it?"

"Stefan's not the only one who tried to save your parents."

Elena looked at her, surprised. "You were there?"

"That night, the girls and I were at a party in the woods with our old classmates. It was before we moved." Marina explained. "One of the girls disappeared, so we split up into four groups, each of us in one. We used a spell so we could stay in touch and use each other's powers. I was looking around the bridge when I saw the car."

"Oh my God."

"I jumped in almost instantly." Marina told her. "By the time I got there, Stefan had gotten you out and was on his way to the surface. Your mom had already lost too much air. Your dad was starting to fade when I got there. His last thoughts were about you and your brother being safe."

"Are you sure?"

"I can hear people's thoughts underwater." Marina told her. "Once I returned to the surface, I saw Stefan. He knew it was already too late. Afterward, I called the hospital, then left the area."

"You knew who we were when you transferred." Elena said, remembering how surprised she'd seemed the day they'd met. "Did the others…"

"They didn't know. They knew about the accident, but I was the only one who'd seen you at the time." Marina said.

"Thanks for trying to help, Marina." Elena told her.

"It's not just part of the job, you know. I tried to save them because I knew it was right."

"You're a great friend."

"We'll find a way out of this mess. I just know it." Marina got up. "You should go with him. It'll help get your mind off things."

She headed downstairs and met the others in the library. "Hey, guys."

"We better get a move on if we're going to try and fix this mess." Lea said.

"There has gotta be something in the grimoires that can help." Vanessa said.

"Let's go, then." Marina said. The three of them left the house. "Did you guys call…"

"Yeah, but we better find the ones we left at our place first." Vanessa said.

At the Grill, Terra showed up just as a man walked by her. "Excuse me, please."

"No problem." Terra said, showing practically no emotion. Inside, though, she was shaking. He had given her such bad vibes it reminded her of the night of the dance, when… "You've got to kidding." She said to herself as she sat down by Damon's other side.

"Let me guess, you ran into him on your way here." Damon said.

"Yeah."

"You okay?" Alaric asked her.

"I'm good, Mr. Saltzman. It's just the negative energy kinda throws me off sometimes. It's why the four of us protect ourselves against it."

"You're good luck charms again?"

"More like meditation." Terra said. "Helps us keep in touch with our magic, too."

"What are we going to do about this?"

"You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, she might... Get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?" Damon asked.

"I think it won't matter, because you'll be dead." Alaric pointed out.

"If you want my opinion, I don't know if she'll forgive you." Terra added. "It might take a while before she'd be ready to. But I know for a fact she will definitely never forgive you if you just let her die."

"So you're saying you're in?"

"I'm saying that we shouldn't go through with this."  
Terra told him. "Damon, Klaus has been around for years. How do you know if he doesn't have a back-up?"

"Either way, it's still worth a shot, right?" Damon pointed out. "Besides, that way, at least someone will get a chance to live."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Terra said.

"You guys in or not?"

"What do you want me to do?" Alaric asked.

The other witches were headed to the abandoned witch house, where they'd agreed to meet Bonnie. "Why do our spell books have to be so heavy?" Marina asked.

"Probably because we were supposed to bring the family ones, not the entire collection, Marina." Lea said. Vanessa was on the phone with Terra.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah. Much as I hate to admit it there's a good chance of it backfiring, we still have to try." Terra said. "She's the only one who would know where Klaus is keeping them." She and the others were outside Ric's apartment. He opened the door, where Katherine was waiting for them.

"Look who's dumb enough to come back."

"Well, somebody had to invite him in." Alaric pointed out." Damon. Would you like to, uh, come in?" Terra had already entered the room when he got in.

_"_Are you trying to get me killed?"

"I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect. I got it from here, Rick." Damon called.

"You sure?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for this. Get back to the house. Keep Elena from handing herself over."

"Besides, we can handle this." Terra told him.

"Okay." He left.

_"_Get blamed for what?" Katherine asked.

"I need to know where Klaus is keeping his werewolf." Damon told her.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Katherine asked him.

"Dead werewolf equals no ritual."

"Hopefully we won't have to kill him, Damon." Terra said.

"No. You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met." Katherine warned.

"I just need to delay this thing."

"No. No way."

"You should like this. It's going to buy another month of your pathetic life."

"Right. Except that I'm not the vampire he's planning on sacrificing." Katherine told them.

"What?"

"Yeah. He's got Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood. Therefore, I'm in the clear."

"And where'd he get that idea from?" Damon asked, approaching her.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, I'm just trying to stay alive long enough to get myself out of here." Katherine told them.

"Yeah, we know that, but you could've spared our friends." Terra said.

"So compassionate. Let me guess, Nicole's descendant?" Terra looked at her in shock.

"How'd you know?"

"You two look a lot alike." Katherine said. "Wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Where are they?" Damon asked. Katherine didn't answer. Terra was concentrating, though.

"They're underground, somewhere." Terra said. "The connection's not strong enough, but I'm getting the feeling it's somewhere I've been before. They're in the tomb."

"Let's go." Damon said. As they left, Terra looked back at Katherine.

"I hope you know which side to fight for because Elena will be devastated if she loses anyone else." Terra warned her. She headed out the door.

"So we were right." Lea said on the phone. She was going through one of the grimores.

"Yeah, but don't worry. Damon and I are on our way there now." Terra told her. She hung up.

They arrived just outside the tomb. Terra got a feeling something wasn't right. Then she noticed someone guarding the tomb. She knew right away it was a warlock.

"Which one are you trying to save? The blond, or the wolf?" He asked. "Did you really think Klaus would leave them unprotected?"

"Wishful thinking." Damon said.

"Some of us are better at preparing." Terra said as he struggled to fight the warlock. Just when he was about to lose, she used her powers to create a small tremor on the ground beneath the warlock. He lost his footing and fell to the ground.

"Why you…" Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Terra jumped at the sound and saw the warlock had fallen dead.

"Damon, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." He said. She offered her hand and helped him up. Terra got the feeling they weren't alone and gently nudged him. A few feet away, they saw Matt, holding a shotgun.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked.

"Where's Caroline?" Matt asked him.

"Listen, man. Not a good time to play the hero."

"Matt…" Terra began. She realized he'd seen her use her powers.

"Where is she? And what did he do to her?" Matt asked.

"I'm just here to rescue her." Damon said.

"No, we're here to rescue her." Terra said. "She's our friend, too, Matt. And I'm sorry about this, but it's too dangerous for you to go down there with us." Suddenly, Damon sped over and hit him with his own gun.

"I really hate when we have to do that, but sometimes, it's for their own safety." Terra said.

"I know." Damon said. Then he looked at the bullets. "Terra…he knows."

"But Care compelled him."

"Apparently not, look." Terra looked at the bullets and noticed they were wooden. She picked one up and used her powers to disintegrate it.

"You guys are going to have to be more careful now." They headed into the tomb. Terra couldn't see too well, but she could sense Caroline and Tyler a few feet toward the back.

"Which way?" Damon asked.

"Keep going straight." Terra told him. "They're just ahead, kinda toward the back."

They found the two of them in no time. "Damon? Terra?"

"Hey, guys." Terra said.

"Your boyfriend's outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets. You have some explaining to do."

"What, Matt?"

"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asked.

"No, I..."

"Later, we need to get out of here." Terra said. Damon freed Caroline while she got Tyler out.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? It's going to get dark out." Damon called to her.

"I'm not leaving anyone behind here." Terra said. "Besides, I can stop him if it gets out of hand."

At the top of the hill, Elena and Stefan had finally made it to the top. "Marina told me about the other night. Did you know she was there?"

"I didn't recognize her at first, but now I'm sure." Stefan told her. "I didn't make the connection until I saw her at the lake a few weeks ago."

"It's so hard to believe."

"If there's one thing about Marina, it's that she's a good friend." Stefan said. "She won't give up on anyone."

"Yeah, I know."

Back in the forest, night had fallen and the four teens were running through the woods. Tyler was starting to fall behind. "What's happening? Is he okay?" Matt asked.

"He better not wolf out on us." Damon said. His phone rang then. "Bad time, little bro."

Terra looked over at Tyler. "This isn't looking good." Suddenly, he fell to the ground.

"Tyler!"

"I don't know if I can hold it off. Get out of here!" Tyler warned them.

"Tyler, it'll be okay." Caroline said.

"Go!"

"You've got time. We're almost there, just..."

"It's happening faster." He told them.

"Damon, Care, run!" Terra called to them. Tyler rushed toward Caroline, but Terra used her powers to push him off. "Come on!" Suddenly, he was up again. Damon pushed him to the ground.

"Get to the Lockwood cellar. If it held him in, it'll keep him out." Damon told them. They all left in separate directions. Terra headed over to the witch house. She knew she had to find the other girls, or the entire plan would fail.


	19. Chapter 19

At the house, the girls, Bonnie, and Jeremy were going through the grimores. Eventually, Jeremy got frustrated. "This is useless. There has to be something in here to keep Elena from becoming a vampire."

"And we'll keep looking." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, we're not giving up on her." Lea said.

"Maybe we should've given her one of those protection charms." Vanessa said.

"Oh, yeah. Too bad we can't do a thing about it now." Lea said.

"Calm down, guys." Marina said. "We can prevent this. We just have to work together."

"Yeah, she's right." Vanessa said. "We can do this."

A few minutes later, the girls were going over it. "Hey, you think this'll work?" Lea asked.

"Yeah, I think we can use this spell." Marina said. "What about you two?"

"It could work…" Vanessa said.

"Yeah, at least there's no drawback to this." Terra said. "But how close can we get?"

"We can't." Bonnie pointed out. "We'll be putting everyone in danger. Maybe I should just…"

"No, Bon, we've been over this before." Lea said. "We're not losing anyone here. Find anything, Jer?"

"Emily has a section of spells she did for my ancestor, Jonathan Gilbert." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, I think she had a thing for him." Bonnie told them.

"Is there anyone who didn't?" Lea asked.

"There's something about a resuscitative spell she was working on." Jeremy said.

"I saw that, too." Bonnie said. Suddenly, there was a sound. "Someone's here." The group tensed.

"Relax, guys." Terra said. "It's Mr. Saltzman." Sure enough, Alaric entered the room.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Elijah and Stefan are upstairs." He told them. "You mind if I have a second with Jeremy?"

"No problem." The girls all headed upstairs.

Outside, they ran into Elijah and Stefan. "Hey, what's up?" Terra asked.

"We've got a situation. Klaus is using Jenna as the vampire in the ritual." Stefan told them.

"He got Jenna?" Marina said.

"Not again." Vanessa groaned.

"Why did he take Jenna?" Bonnie asked.

"A punishment for meddling." Elijah explained.

"He was going to use Tyler and Caroline, but Damon rescued them." Stefan said.

"Still doesn't make this any less right." Lea said.

"Hey, we had no idea Jenna would get caught in the crossfire." Terra said. "If I'd known that, I'd have at least put a protection spell on her."

"Then we need to go now before she's sacrificed." Bonnie said.

"If we do that, you could both end up dead." Terra pointed out.

"Well, we can't let Jenna die." Bonnie argued.

"That's where we're in agreement."

"We're going to offer another vampire." Stefan said. "One he'll want more. Me."

"Okay, has everyone around here gone crazy?" Lea said. "It's like almost everyone we know should be placed on a freaking suicide watch!"

"She's right. This is crazy." Vanessa said. "There has to be another way to do this."

"Maybe I could use a spell to help." Marina told them. "Terra, you know where they are?"

"Somewhere in the woods." Terra said. "It could take a while to get there, though."

"We don't have time to get there on foot!" Lea nearly exploded.

"Whoa, did I miss something here?" Everyone turned around as Damon arrived.

"Okay, here's an idea, I'll go with him and pass along the location to you guys." Terra said.

A few minutes later, Vanessa was headed back inside to help the others, when she noticed Damon by the wall. He flinched. "What are you doing out here?"

"Nothing, really."

"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked. She was getting concerned.

"Yeah, I just can't believe what my brother agreed to." She noticed something near Damon's wrist.

"What is that?" She asked him.

"It's…" Before he react, she grabbed his arm and looked at his wrist. It was a wolf bite.

"Damon…"

"Look, we don't have time for this now." He pointed out. "We need to keep this between us, at least until after everything's over."

"You should've let us know about it before." Vanessa told him. "I won't tell the others yet, though. Last thing we need is more panic right now."

They went inside. "We found something in the Gilbert journals." Bonnie told them.

"Jonathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services. The woman's baby was sick, dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind a woman's life force with her child." John explained.

"Skip to the save Elena part." Damon told him.

"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life."

"We already know Elena's going to come back to life but she'll be a vampire." Jeremy said.

"Not if her soul remains intact." John told him.

"Her soul, really? You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?" The rest of the witches looked at him.

"I refuse to let Elena become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against." John told him. "And you can call that god or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes... I'm putting my faith in it."

"Hate to counter here, but vampires aren't all evil." Marina said. "And I don't know about my partners here, but I'd protect Elena no matter what she is."

"I think I heard of this spell." Vanessa said. "Are you sure you want to go through with it, cause there's probably another way to…"

"I think we're out of options on this one, Nessa." Lea said. She felt her pendant vibrate. "Terra found the location. We better get going."

"We'll meet you there." Damon told them.

The girls found themselves in the forest. Terra had hidden herself near the northern areas. "Better be careful, girls. There's another witch here helping him out and the area's surrounded by a flaming circle."

"At least it'll help us when we get into position." Lea said.

"Okay, here's what you need to do." Terra said. "Bonnie, can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, Lea, you and Bonnie stay together. Marina, Vanessa, you two enter opposite of each other."

"We know the directions." Marina said. "We better get ready. Looks like Elena's about to collapse."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the circle, Elena fell to the ground. Suddenly, Klaus was knocked back by a powerful blast. "You were dead!" He yelled.

"There's more bad news coming!" A voice called over the flames. "Now, girls!" The rest of the witches used their powers to help Bonnie weaken him. Lea appeared next to her, while Marina, Terra, and Vanessa surrounded him from their elements' positions in the circle.

"Okay, you guys are up. I can't keep this up much longer." Bonnie said.

"We call on our elements to help us prevent this evil from bringing more harm." Terra said. The girls felt their element abilities rush through them, empowering them.

"Four Element Attack!" The blast knocked him to the ground.

"I almost forgot how strong that was." Marina said.

"It's not over yet, though." Terra pointed out. "Stay in position." Stefan was standing next to Bonnie and Lea now. Elijah had arrived.

"Elijah?"

"Hello, brother." He got into position to finish him off. "In the name of our family, Nicklaus..."

"I didn't bury them at sea! Their bodies are safe. If you kill me, you'll never find them."

"Elijah! Don't listen to him."

"Girls, we've got to use the back-up plan. Now!" Terra thought.

"I know. He's actually telling the truth." Marina thought back.

"Enough talking. Hurry and join powers." Vanessa thought.

"Bonnie, stand back." Lea said. While they'd been talking, Terra had taken the moonstone telekinetically and was holding it.

"By the power of the night and the moonstone's light, with all our elements combined, undo the curse that was broken this night and prevent the werewolf side from awakening ever again." The girls focused, their pendants and the moonstone glowing.

"I can take you to them. I give you my word... Brother." Klaus got out. He had no idea that the girls' spell was in effect and had resealed the werewolf side. At least, that's what they all believed, anyway.

"Do it and I'll take you both out." Bonnie said.

"You'll die." Elijah pointed out.

"I don't care."

"I'm sorry." The next thing they knew, the two Originals had left. The flames were still really high.

"Go out!" Lea commanded. The fire disappeared instantly. The rest of the girls ran across the clearing to where the others were standing in disbelief.

"Now what?" Bonnie asked.

"It's okay. We did a spell to re-seal the werewolf curse." Marina said. "At the very least, it might be a little loosened because of the first one being broken, but at least he won't go full werewolf."

"Well, at least that's one good thing." Bonnie said.

"So, what should we do now?" Stefan asked.

"We better check in on Elena." Vanessa told them.

"Damon took her back to her place." Terra said.

Early the next day, the girls met up at their witch hangout. They were all wearing black dresses. "How's she doing?" Terra asked.

"She's got a lot of mixed feelings." Marina said. "Relieved to be alive and human, sad because of John and Jenna's sacrifices, guilt because she and Jeremy lost pretty much every parent they had."

"She's been through a lot lately." Vanessa said. "I wish there was something we could've done."

"Well, apart from two Originals being who-knows-where, I don't know what else we can do to help." Lea said.

"We need to be there for her, girls." Marina said.

"And the others." Vanessa added. "I'm sure they all feel responsible for the plan partly failing."

"No matter what happens after this, we keep helping them. Because this team can't work without our friends helping." Terra said. "And I don't know about you, but I feel like I've grown closer to them since we moved here."

"So do I." Marina said.

"Same here."

"Yeah."

That day, they joined the rest of the group at the cemetery. They all looked on as Elena placed a rose on each grave. Marina recognized the names of her parents on the one near Jenna's. The others all looked on.

After a few minutes, Terra headed over to Jeremy. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Jeremy said. "As long as I still have her, I know things will be alright."

"You always have family, Jer. No matter what." Terra told him.

Lea and Damon exchanged a glance with each other. Vanessa looked over at the others. Elena finally headed back over to the others. Marina took her hand.

"You'll get through this."

"I know." Elena told her, brushing a tear away. The group started to leave, when Vanessa realized the Salvatores were missing. She turned around and saw them talking. By the time she got there, Damon was leaving.

"He told you, didn't he?" Vanessa asked.

"You knew?"

"I saw it on his arm last night." Vanessa said. "Don't worry. I'll tell the others. I'm sure if we work together, we'll find a cure."

"You'd really save him?"

"He's our friend and your brother, Stefan." Vanessa said. "If there's anything we can do to save him, we'll do it. No matter what happens."


	20. Chapter 20

The girls were at their meeting place the next day. "Terra, will you come on?" Lea called. "We've gotta meet the others at the movie."

"I know, it's just, I can't even believe we're doing this."

"Hey, we have to be there for them." Marina said. "They're our friends and we've still got our job to do." Vanessa's thoughts, however, were far away.

"Yo, Nessa, you coming?" Lea asked.

"There's something you need to know." Vanessa said. "Damon got bitten by a werewolf."

"What?" Lea nearly screamed.

"Oh, no." Terra said. "When we were saving Caroline and Tyler the other night, Tyler began to transform."

"This is bad news." Marina said.

"So are you saying he's going to…" Lea began.

"Not if we can do anything about it." Vanessa said. "Look, for now this stays between us. I'm going to the old witch house to help Stefan."

"I'm going with you." Lea said.

"We'll meet you guys at the movie." Terra said.

Outside, Elena and Jeremy were in the courtyard. "You brought me to see a girl movie." He complained. Just then, Marina and Terra showed up.

"Contrary to popular belief, there actually was a message about feminism in there somewhere." Terra said.

"She's knowledgeable about all kinds of stuff like that." Marina added.

"We had to get out of the house, Jer. This is our 3-hour distraction from reality."

"Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?" Jeremy asked.

"We need to do this, okay?" Elena told him. "Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore."

"You're sister's right, Jer." Marina said. "You've got to move on, but it'll take some time."

"Hey! There you guys are." Caroline joined them.

"Are we really doing this?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes, we are really doing this." Caroline said. "We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows I am a vampire, so basically it's like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere."

"Wow, Care. That was awesome." Terra said.

"All right." Jeremy sat down with the group.

Meanwhile, Vanessa and Lea arrived at the witch house, finding Stefan and Bonnie already there. "Is it true?" Lea asked. "About Damon?"

"I'm afraid so." Stefan told her.

"We want to help here." Vanessa said.

"You sure this is going to work?" Bonnie asked.

"You've done a séance before, right? Contacted Emily Bennett." Stefan pointed out. "Maybe one of the witches might know how to help Damon."

"Let's just hope they want to." Bonnie said. Lea lit the candles instantly. Then the girls cast the spell together.

"They can hear us."

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked. Vanessa noticed a shift in Bonnie's energy.

"Emily."

"Whoa. I never knew they could do that."

"Witches have special abilities like that." Lea said.

"Why have you come here, Stefan?" Emily asked.

"I need your help. I need to know if there's a spell that can heal a werewolf bite." Stefan told her.

"No. Nature ensures a balance to everything." Emily said.

"Is that true... or are you just saying no because it's Damon?"

"Emily, please. He's a good friend of ours." Lea said. Emily turned her attention to them.

"You two aren't like us, are you?"

"We're descended from Cassie and Molly." Vanessa explained. "And we know that in the past, they were close with the Salvatore family."

"Ms. Bennett, please. If there's a way we can save Damon, tell us." Lea said.

"Be warned, young guardian. You won't like the answer." A new voice said. The two element witches looked at each other. They became aware they were the only ones that can hear them.

"Molly?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes, it's us."

"How can we help Damon?" Lea asked.

"Maya, we shouldn't."

"I don't care, Natalie. These young kids need help. Besides, we befriended the Salvatores once."

"There is a spell, but it's hidden in a grimoire from before my time."

"Where can we find it?" Vanessa asked.

"I do not know, but it could be in Marina's library."

"I know you wish to help them, but I'm afraid there just isn't a solution to this one." Emily told them. Suddenly, Bonnie collapsed and the voices stopped.

"Bonnie!" The girls and Stefan ran to her. She woke up.

"They don't want us here. They think I'm abusing their power." Bonnie explained.

"They know something. There's an answer. They just don't want to tell me." Stefan said.

"I heard them say a name." Bonnie told them.

"What was it?"

"Klaus." The group looked at each other.

"We can't go to Klaus." Vanessa said. "There's no way he'll give it up without something of ours."

"What choice do we have?" Stefan asked.

"Stefan, it's too dangerous." Lea said. "Haven't you been paying attention? He uses people. If he finds out about Damon, he'll use it against you."

"But we can't let Damon die." Stefan said. "Not after everything he's done to help us."

"We better get back to the others." Lea said. They walked out of the house together.

In town, they returned to where the group was sitting. "Hey." Stefan said.

"Hey! Look who couldn't resist an epic romance." Elena said.

"Will you come take a walk with me?" Stefan asked her. The two of them left to get some privacy.

"Any luck?" Marina asked.

"They said there's a really old spell, but when we found the book, it was unreadable." Lea told them.

"There must be something we can do." Terra said.

"Bonnie heard the spirits say Klaus' name." Vanessa told them. "It looks like the only way to find a cure…"

"Is for him to go to Klaus?" Marina asked. "If he does this, he might not come back."

"He knows that." Vanessa said. "But he doesn't want to lose Damon."

"If anything happens, I know we'll be able to find him." Terra said. "I just really feel bad for Elena."

"Yeah." The others agreed with her.

"Hey, everyone." They turned around.

"Joe? What are you doing here?" Terra asked.

"I invited him." Vanessa said. "I figured we'd need another guy around since Jer's apparently a wimp when it comes to chick flicks."

"Hey!" Jeremy looked at her, offended.

"Sorry."

"Besides, I thought it'd feel more normal with him around." Vanessa added.

"Hey, guys." Elena said. "I'm going to head to the Boarding House."

"Would you like some company?" Marina asked.

"Thanks, but I think I should do this alone." Elena told her.

"We'll see you soon, girl." Terra said.

Stefan was watching them from a short distance away. He started to leave, when he heard someone. "Did you really think you were leaving without saying good-bye?" Marina asked.

"I don't know what he's going to ask of me or if I'll be back."

"We understand that. I want you to have this." She handed him a small crystal. "It'll allow you to stay in touch with Elena without him knowing."

"How's it work?"

"You can reach her in her dreams. You just need to have it on you." Marina said. "I'll give her the other one." Stefan put the crystal in his pocket. "No matter what comes next, none of us will give up on you."

"Thanks for everything, Marina."

"It's no big deal." Marina said. She blinked away the tears that threatened to form. She hugged him before heading back to the other girls.

A few hours later, the group was watching the movie, but weren't really paying attention to it. "All this waiting around for news is ruining Scarlett for me." Caroline said.

"I know." Lea said. "I can't believe we're sitting here, while Damon's in pain."

"Lea…" Terra began. She was cut off by Jeremy's phone ringing.

"Alaric. Hey." Jeremy said.

"Tell me you're with Elena." Alaric said.

"She went to go see Damon. I thought that's where you were?" Jeremy asked. Everyone else looked to him.

"No, he just escaped. I think he's looking for her, and the cops are after him." Alaric explained. "Listen, he's in bad shape, Jeremy, so if you find her, get her somewhere safe, ok? I'm on my way."

"How is he?" Lea asked.

"Not good. He got out." Vanessa told them.

"If Damon is off the rails, there is nothing you can do to stop him." Bonnie told Jeremy. "Let us take care of it."

"You keep doing this. You left me behind before, and guess what Jenna still died. Now I'm going to find my sister. You go ahead and you try to stop me."

"Sorry, we have to go." Vanessa told Joe. "A friend needs help."

"No problem. I don't know what's going on here, but if he's hurt or something…" Vanessa kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm so lucky to have someone as understanding as you."

"Elena's near the Sheriff's office." Terra told them. "The rest of us will pair up."

"Good luck, everyone." Caroline said. Then, they all took off in different directions.

Jeremy and Terra decided to search close by, so it wasn't long before she felt him nearby. "Jeremy, over there." They ran over to where Damon was.

"Damon!"

"Where's Elena?" He asked.

"She's okay, it's fine." Terra told him.

"We have to get him out of here." Jeremy said. They both picked him up and headed for the Grill.

Meanwhile, Marina reached the Sheriff's station. "Elena?" She called. Suddenly, the window next to her shattered. Elena jumped out. "Whoa. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. We need to find Damon." Elena told her.

"We will. Let's head back to the square. I have no idea where he is, but we need to stick close to the others." Elena nodded. "Oh, hang on. Take this." She handed Elena a crystal identical to the one she gave Stefan.

"What's it for?"

"Just trust me." Marina said. "There's no time to explain now."

At the Grill, Jeremy, Terra, and Damon were together. Jeremy had called the others. "Hey, it's me. I'm with Damon at The Grill." Terra could sense Sheriff Forbes in the room with them.

"Look out!" Terra warned them. She fired, but Damon ran off. Terra was in front of Jeremy, but she stopped the bullet from hitting him, using her powers to block and destroy the bullet instantly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, my goodness." The sheriff said, horrified about what she'd almost done. Jeremy, still in shock, collapsed to the ground. "Oh my…"

"It's okay, Sheriff." Terra said, checking Jeremy's pulse. "He's still alive."

Just then, Bonnie, Caroline, Lea, and Vanessa showed up. "Jeremy!"

"He's okay." Terra told them.

"Mom. What did you do?" Caroline asked.

"I was aiming for Damon." The Sheriff admitted to her daughter. "Thank goodness Terra was here."

"Come on, Jer." Lea said. "Wake up."

"He's unconscious." Terra said. Alaric showed up then.

"Bonnie, what's going on?" He asked. Then he noticed Jeremy. "Oh, my god."

"I can hear him breathing." Lea said.

"Of course." Terra said. "Vanessa, could you…"

"On it." Vanessa dropped to the ground and put her hand on Jeremy's chest. "Healing Wind!"

A few seconds later, Jeremy woke up. "What happened?"

"You passed out." Bonnie told him. "You're okay." She embraced him tightly.

"How's that possible?" Sheriff Forbes asked.

"A lot of things are possible that aren't thought to be." Caroline told her.

"Caroline's a bright girl, no matter what species she is." Terra said.

"We better get going." Lea said. "We still have to help Damon."

"I'm going to stay and make sure Jeremy's okay." Alaric told them.

The girls headed outside. "Lea, he's okay." Terra said. "I saw him, he's fine."

"I know that, but I can't help but be worried." Lea said. "The bite's infected, and I just can't sit back and watch while he…" The girls looked at her, realizing.

"Lea." Vanessa said. "I didn't know you cared about him that much."

"Neither did I." Lea said. "Until now."

"Come on. They're in town square." Terra said. They all ran off.

By the time they got there, Marina and Elena were already there, holding a passed-out Damon. "What happened?" Lea asked.

"He started hallucinating." Marina said. "We managed to calm him down."

"We've gotta get to the Boarding House." Elena said.

"We can handle that in an instant." Vanessa said.

A few minutes later, the girls were in the Boarding House. Marina was sitting next to Damon. "Is there anything we can do to help?" Elena asked.

"Get a bucket of water and some towels." Marina told her. "Can you two help her?" Terra and Vanessa went into the hall with her.

"You okay?"

"Not really."

"If you need to talk, we're right here." Vanessa told her. "Come on, we can talk while we work." They headed down the hall.

Meanwhile, Lea entered Damon's room. She noticed Marina using a spell. "What are you doing? Are you forgetting what happened the last time?" She sounded really worried.

"It's okay." Marina said. "I'm not trying to heal him, I'm trying just trying to make it hurt less."

"Oh."

"You really care about him, don't you?" Marina asked.

"Yeah, I do." Lea admitted to her.

"Marina…" Terra called. "I think we need a hand downstairs."

"Can you keep an eye on him?" Marina asked.

"No problem."

"I'll give you a little time alone." Marina said. She left the room to help the others in the hall.

Lea looked at the form lying down on the bed. "Lea?" She turned when she heard Damon's voice. He was awake.

"Damon, I'm here." She told him. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"I know." Lea looked at him. She turned around. "Hey." She turned back. "I'm sorry. About everything. It was wrong to lead you on like that." She was surprised. "I should've told you the truth right from the start."

Something stirred inside Lea. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. "No, I should be the one apologizing. Ever since we came here, all I did was stand by and judge you even after you helped us so many times." Lea told him. "But now I realize the only reason I was so angry was because I was hurt."

"What are you…" He began, but stopped. It was getting hard to talk.

"I was hurt because I still have feelings for you." Lea told him. "But I know you have feelings for Elena, and I'm okay with that." He looked at her.

"Not like any of that matters now."

"Damon, you love her." Lea pointed out. "If there was ever a time to tell her…well, okay, maybe not the best time, but better now than never, right?"

"Since we started working together, I've never thought of you as anything less than a friend." He admitted to her.

"Maybe we'll get lucky." Lea said. "But…look, no matter what, we'll always be friends." She brushed a few tears away. "Oh, I can't believe I'm doing this." She bent over and kissed his lips. She pulled away a few seconds later.

Downstairs, the rest of the girls were together. Marina had to use her powers to keep Elena calm. "You think that healing spell will work?" Vanessa asked.

"I really hope so." Marina said. "We can't afford any more casualties."

"Marina." Terra said firmly. Elena had turned around.

"Are you okay?" Marina asked.

"Not really." The girls looked at each other.

"We know how hard this is." Vanessa said.

"I just can't lose anyone else right now. In less than two years, I somehow manage to lose all my parents and I'm the cause of it both times. And now this…"

"Hey, you're not alone in this." Marina said.

"She's right. You've got us." Vanessa told her.

"We better get upstairs." Terra said. She and Elena were in the upstairs hallway when they saw Lea.

"Hey."

"How is he?"

"It's not looking too good." Lea said.

"We better help him."

"That's one thing I can do." Lea looked at Elena. "He needs you, Elena."

"Come with me." Elena told her. "I don't want to be in there alone."

A few minutes later, the rest of the witches were downstairs. Marina had gone back upstairs to help the others. "I hate waiting around like this." Vanessa said. Terra felt someone else enter the room and got up, turning around.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help."

"That's what you said before." Vanessa said, standing next to her.

"No, really. I have the cure." Katherine explained, holding up a small bottle. "I just hope I'm not too late." The girls looked at each other, realizing she was telling the truth.

"Okay, they're in Damon's room." Terra told her. They followed her upstairs, then stopped outside in the hallway. Not that they didn't trust her, but they had to be sure she wasn't going to try anything.

Meanwhile, in the room, the others were around. Elena was lying down next to Damon, while Marina was sitting in a chair by his side. Lea was the only one standing.

"This is even more pitiful than I thought."

"There's still hope." Elena said.

"Elena…" Marina began.

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here." Damon continued. "I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No, you don't." Lea said. "No one deserves something like this, Damon, no matter what the reason is."

"She's right." Elena said.

"Hey, it's okay. If I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you."

"Hang in there." Marina said. "There could still be a way to save you, Damon."

"I'm so sorry." He told Elena. "I've done so many things to hurt you."

"It's okay. I forgive you." Elena said.

"So do we." Lea said. Marina nodded in agreement. Not that she ever hated him, though some of the things he did were a little unnecessary at times.

"I know you love Stefan." Damon told Elena as she took his hand. "And it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that."

She started to cry. Marina got up and put a hand on her free arm. "I do."

"You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me." Elena looked at him.

"I like you now." She told him. "Just the way you are." He looked at her before closing his eyes. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Lea smiled.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Well, it's me you should be thanking." All of the girls turned and saw Katherine had entered the room. "I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure."

"You better be telling the truth for your own sake." Lea told her. Marina looked at the bottle she was holding.

"She's telling the truth." Terra called from the doorway.

"I thought you were dead." Katherine told her doppelganger.

"I was." The two witches moved so that Katherine could move to Damon's side.

"You got free."

"Yep. Finally." She gave him the cure for the bite.

"And you still came here?" Damon asked.

"I owed you one." Katherine pointed out, getting up.

"Technically, you owed us." Lea corrected.

"Where's Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Are you sure you care?"

"Don't play games, Kat. Where is he?" Marina said.

"He's paying for this." Katherine told them. "He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."

"What do you mean, "he gave himself over"?" Elena asked.

"He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you." Katherine explained. "It's a good thing you have Damon to keep you company."

"She also has us, don't forget that." Marina said.

"Good-bye, Elena." Katherine started to leave, but then turned back. "Oh. It's ok to love them both. I did." She tossed her the bottle with the cure and left.

"Hey, we'll find him." Marina told Elena. Damon sat up.

"How are you doing?" Lea asked. "Feeling any better?"

"Actually, yeah." Lea looked down at his wrist and saw the bite healing.

In the hallway, Terra and Vanessa found Katherine. Lea had joined them. "Katherine, wait." The vampire turned around. "Thank you for helping him."

"I figured I owed him." Katherine said. "Besides, he helped me."

"We might have our disagreements, but you really aren't as bad as everyone thinks." Vanessa said.

"We won't always be on the same side, so when I come back, watch it."

"Trust me, we're always watching our backs around you." Terra said. Katherine left the house then.

Back in the room, Marina was with Elena. "He wouldn't answer back." Vanessa and the others entered.

"Well, we know he's with Klaus."

"That really narrows it down." Damon said, sarcastically.

"Yeah, he's definitely feeling better now." Lea said.

"Elena, don't worry about Stefan." Terra said. "We'll find him."

"Are you sure?"

"Elena, we're you're friends." Vanessa said. "We'd help you find him even if it took all summer."

"Right now I can tell they're in some kind of warehouse, but they won't be for long." Terra said.

"So what happens with the rest of you?"

"Well, some of us might help track him down…"

"But the rest of us are staying here." Marina said. "Mystic Falls is our home now, too."

"And we're going to keep doing our job." Vanessa said.

"Protecting the town?" Elena asked.

"No, helping our friends." They all looked at each other, smiling. No matter how hard things were going to get, they knew they'd do anything it'd take to help each other.


	21. Chapter 21

At the meeting house, Marina was shaking Vanessa. "Vanessa, come on. You're going to be late if this keeps up."

Vanessa opened her eyes and checked her watch. "Aw, man! I'm going to be late!"

"I'll meet with you later." Marina said. "That's what happens when you spend half of it off shopping."

"Aw, man. I promised Care…"

"I'll take care of it." Marina said. "Terra called, she got held up."

"So she's not coming?" Vanessa asked.

"She's just running a little late this morning." Marina said. "I'm sure she'll be back any second. Anyway, I need to head go. Don't forget Care's left us in charge of decorating and I promised to meet with Elena before then."

Marina had spent the summer at home, spending her free time practicing her magic and checking in on Elena. She knew it'd been hard for her, with Stefan being out of town after losing Jenna.

Terra had gone out of town, helping Damon and Elena try to find Stefan. Since they were always on the move, it was difficult for her to keep up with them. She also mentioned to the others about visiting distant family members.

Marina headed over to Elena's, knocking on the door. The door opened and Jeremy rushed out, already running late for work. She went inside without saying anything.

Elena was on the phone when she walked in. "And you're sure it's a vampire?" Marina looked at her, concerned. "Doesn't mean it's not. I'll call her. Tell her thank you for her help. Oh, Caroline wait, just keep tonight small. Please."

"Still trying to bail on us?" Marina asked.

"Hey."

"Look, we've all put a lot of work into this, Lena. That, and Care would kill us if you didn't come." Marina pointed out.

"And I thought Lea was the party girl." Elena said. She smiled, but Marina could feel her loneliness under the surface.

"Hey. It's okay if you're not in the mood to come, you know." She told her. "We could always just stay over here."

"Thanks."

"Besides, Terra's still trying to figure out a plan for what we'll do when we find him." Marina said.

"I know. Speaking of which, another lead came in." Elena said. "I'll see you later." She left the house.

"How's she doing?" Marina asked Alaric.

"I think she's trying to be strong for Jeremy." He told her. "She just won't give up on him, no matter what."

"Neither will we." Marina said. Just then, her phone rang. "Hello? What? You're here?"

At the Boarding House, Damon was checking out the note that Elena had given him. "They moved on to Tenessee." He told Andie.

"Huh, that fluttered victim you had me looking in to have family in Tennessee." She said.

"Up for a road trip?"

"no can do, I've got to work. But I can see if I can get you an address." Andie told him. "See you at the party."

Suddenly, his phone rang. He answered. "Hey, did you hear the news?"

"Yeah, they're definetly a little further south." He heard Terra say on the other end of the line.

"According to our latest lead, they're in Tenessee."

"Sounds about right."

"Will you be joining us or…"

"I would, but my tracing abilities have been coming in and out. They're so fast that it's hard to keep up with them. Besides, Vanessa's got me covering for her on decorating duty."

At the Grill, Vanessa picked up an empty tray and placed it down on the counter. She'd been working there along with Jeremy, Matt, and Joe over the past few months. She actually enjoyed working there.

"Behind you." Vanessa moved so that Joe could pass her.

"Thanks for the head's up."

"No problem. You're getting really good at this."

"The last time I broke a plate was only a couple weeks ago." Vanessa pointed out. "I'd say it's a major improvement."

"Yeah, but at least you're not as bad as Jeremy."

"Hey, he's like my bro. Back off." Vanessa said. She started to move to the counter, when someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped and spun around. "Matt! Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, I didn't know girls like you scared easily." Matt said. Ever since they saved Tyler and Caroline, he knew everyone's supernatural secret.

"Just cause we're different, it doesn't make us any less normal than a regular girl." Vanessa said. "What did you want?"

"Caroline and Tyler just got seated out in my section."

"Dude, lighten up." Vanessa said. "She's my friend and all, but I'm not going to switch just because things are awkward with you two. Look, nothing about Caroline is any different from the girl you befriended last year."

"I don't know, it still feels weird that she's…"

"I wouldn't judge her without talking to her first." Vanessa said. She walked over to an empty table.

"What's his deal?" Joe asked as she started cleaning the area.

"Ex-drama that I don't want to get involved in." Vanessa told him.

"He and Care are still tense, huh?"

"It's just…complicated." Vanessa explained.

"So what's up with her and Lockwood anyway?"

"I think she likes him, but they're both too shy to ask the other out." Vanessa said.

"Yeah, it's just all this awkwardness is weird." Suddenly, there was a clatter from the backroom. They rushed in and found Jeremy under a pile of broken trays.

"What happened?" Vanessa asked as they started clearing it off him.

"Matt asked me to switch with him and on the way out, I knocked into the stand over here." Jeremy explained. "I'm fine, though."

"Dude, you need to be more careful back here." Joe said. "Do you have any idea what management would say if they learned about that?"

"Jer, head out to them. We'll handle this mess." Vanessa told him, helping him get to his feet.

Terra was outside on her porch. She was sitting down on the red oak swing, talking on the phone. "They were definitely in Tennessee. Stefan's shown his work clearly."

"And I'm guessing Elena still doesn't know you're investigating behind her back?" Terra asked.

"If she knew what my brother was doing, it would crush her."

"So would this, Damon. You can't blame her for having hope that Stefan might return. The rest of us still believe in him, why can't you?"

"Because he's not going to want to be saved. He won't be the person you know."

"Need I remind you I'm a Guardian Witch?" Terra said. "Hang on, getting another call. Hello?"

"Terra, where are you? You're supposed to meet us at three to help decorate." Vanessa reminded her.

"Man, I forgot. I'm on my way there now." Terra told her.

At the Boarding House, Vanessa, Caroline, Tyler, Elena, and Terra were setting up for the party. "Look who's back from her traveling vacation early." Vanessa said.

"Oh, stop it." Terra said. "Though I did bring back a few gifts from the souvenier shop. Though it's been hard tracking them for almost six weeks straight."

"I feel like I have to fight Damon every single time we get a lead on Stefan." Elena said.

"Maybe he doesn't want to find him."

"Tyler!" Caroline said.

"What? He's into you, isn't he?" Tyler pointed out.

"The only reason Stefan left with Klaus was so he could save Damon's life. I mean, trust me, Damon want's to find him." Elena said.

"As much as we all do." Terra said. "I know I'd do anything to help my brother if he were in trouble."

"But you kissed him? Probably screwed with his head." Tyler pointed out.

"Tyler!" Caroline and Vanessa yelled. Elena glanced at them. "Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it." Elena said. "Look, yes, I kissed him but was a... a goodbye kiss. I thought he was gonna die." She sighed.

"I know, but it's a good thing he didn't." Terra said. Elena's phone beeped.

"I just got a missed a call from Bonnie, I'll be right back."

"Where were you looking, anyway?" Vanessa thought to Terra.

"They've been close to the east coast." Terra thought to her. "Here, I got you this from the museum." She handed her a keychain that had a replica of Van Gough's Starry Night painted on it.

"Wow, thanks." Vanessa said. "How'd you know it was my favorite painting?"

"Lucky guess." Terra said.

"You read my mind, didn't you?" Then Vanessa noticed Caroline alone. Tyler had left while they were talking. "Can you hang this streamer up?" She walked over to Caroline.

"I'm okay, Vanessa."

"Look, I might not be Marina, but I can tell when someone's crushing on someone." Vanessa told her.

"I don't…"

"Care, look. You need to tell him how you feel." Vanessa pointed out. "I mean, Tyler obviously likes you, too. But he won't make a move if you won't."

"I don't know. Things are still awkward with Matt, you know?" Caroline pointed out.

"He's still in shock." Vanessa pointed out. "The break-up hasn't been easy for him, either. He tried to get me to switch with him at work."

"I figured as much when he sent Jeremy out." Caroline said.

"So, see you at the party?"

"You know it."

That evening, the group was at the Boarding House. Marina and Terra were upstairs with Elena. "You look beautiful." Marina told her as she stood in front of the mirror.

"Thanks."

"We know you're there, man." Terra said without glancing back.

"Don't worry I'm not gonna lose it." Elena told them. "at least not before the cake."

"It's you're party, you can cry if you want to." Damon told her. He noticed a picture of her and Stefan on the stand. "Ah, Stefan. Such a pack rat." Marina held Elena's hand. She always knew when she was hiding her sadness. She practically lived at the Gilbert house these days. She was even going to head over tonight to make sure she was really okay.

"I got you something." Damon told her. "I know I promised not to buy you anything so don't worry I didn't pay for it."

"You stole it?" Elena asked.

"No." He was holding a small box. "Found it." He opened it, revealing her vervain necklace.

"I thought I'd never see it again." Elena said.

"Alaric found it in his loft, thought you'd be happy to have it back." Damon explained.

"I am happy, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Can you?"

"Absolutely." He helped her put the necklace back on. Marina and Terra looked at each other.

"Shall we?"

"Hang on." Marina said. "Could you give us a minute?"

"Sure." Damon left the room.

"What's up?" Elena asked.

"We got you something too." Terra said. "This is for you." She handed her a familiar looking pendant.

"A protection pendant." Elena realized. She recognized it because Terra gave one to her brother over the summer, since Bonnie was leaving and it was apparently dangerous to be a witch's boyfriend.

"We figured that once we rescue you're boyfriend, you might need it in case that old hybrid becomes vengeful." Marina explained. "And because we don't want anything to happen to you." Elena looked at the stone. It was white with a light blue streak in it.

"Where'd you find this?"

"It was in my jewelry collection." Marina said.

"We all carry different stones in case we need to make one of these things." Terra told her.

"Well, we better not leave the others waiting." Elena said. "And thanks, I'm sure it will come in handy." She placed it in the pocket of her dress, then they all left the room.


	22. Chapter 22

The group was downstairs. "Whoa, this place is completely packed!" Vanessa said.

"Do we even know half the people at this party?" Marina asked. "Man, Caroline's so in for it!"

"Hey, guys? Anyone know any of these people, I mean, besides the usual group?" Terra asked. They both shook their heads. In the corner, they noticed Damon compelling someone.

"How typical."

"Hey, there you are!" Joe said, running over to Vanessa.

"Now there's someone familiar." Vanessa said. "You two should probably go and look around. You never know when you might meet a guy like this."

"She isn't lying." A voice behind them said. They turned around.

"You made it!"

"Keep it down. I want to surprise him, but first I'm gonna say hello to the birthday girl."

"That girl's certainly got a lot of…something."

"She's pretty cheerful and she's my friend." Marina said, turning to face a guy. He had blonde hair and green eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…man, I suck when it comes to talking to girls. I'm better on the dance floor."

"Really, mind showing me a few moves then?"

"I'm not that good."

"Oh, come on." Marina said. "I'm Marina, by the way. I didn't catch your name."

"Ryan."

In the den, Terra noticed Matt and Jeremy. "Unbelievable."

"I know, that stuff's dangerous. My brother's in rehab because of it." She turned to face a dark-haired guy. "Hey, I know you. You're that math genius at our school."

"Yeah, I knew you looked familiar." Terra said. "Anyway, that's my friend's brother over there."

"Man, Gilbert at it again?"

"Apparently." Terra said. "I'll deal with it."

"Just be careful."

"Relax, I know him. Besides, I'm best friends with his girlfriend."

"Okay, then. Wanna talk later?"

"Sure."

"I'm Andrew, by the way."

"My name's Terra. Well, actually, it's more of a nickname, but I prefer it over my real one." She said. "And now I'm babbling." She realized.

"It's okay. It's kinda cute."

Elena and Caroline entered the room. "Oh...the Stoner den, Buzz kill." Caroline said.

"Hey guys." Matt said.

"Matt, hey!" Elena said. He kissed her on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thank You." Elena said. He left the room.

"He hates me. He's hatred of me, has driven him to drugs!" Caroline said as soon as he was gone.

"He doesn't hate you, he hates that he's not with you."

"Please, Care, no one could ever hate you." The girls turned to see a familiar dark-haired girl in an orange sundress.

"You're here!" Terra ran over and hugged her.

"Happy birthday, Elena."

"You staying around this time?"

"You know it."

"Is that my brother?" Elena said, noticing Jeremy on the couch.

"I'll talk with him." Terra said.

"Thank you." Elena said, leaving the room.

Outside, Damon and Alaric were hanging out. "I am every parent's worst nightmare. I am the chaperone teacher from hell." Alaric said.

"I love high school parties." Damon said.

"Yeah, I bet you used to hit on all the girls." He heard a voice say. "Guess who's back from vacation?" He turned around.

"Lea. It's good to see you again." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I missed you, too." Lea said. Elena stepped outside.

"Jeremy's smoking again."

"Is his stash any good?" Damon asked. Lea hit him playfully on the arm.

"You're an ass." Elena said. She turned to Alaric. "Talk to him, please! He looks up to you. I trust Terra and all, but I don't think she'll convince him alone. I could barely convince him to get off drugs before." He headed inside after her.

"I'm glad you're back in town."

"I'm really glad to see you again, Damon." Lea said. "I've heard about how hard things have gotten."

"Yeah, Terra's power keeps burning out."

"I got something for you. I know Elena's the birthday girl and all, but while I was in the tropics, I got to working on this." She handed him a pendant. The stone was black with a red streak on it.

"Nice color choice."

"I thought you'd like it. Besides, it'll help keep you safe in case we run into any werewolves or Klaus." He slipped it into his pocket.

"So what have you been up to while you were away, besides getting a tan?"

"A lot. We can catch up later." Lea said. A few minutes later, Alaric returned. Damon received a message.

"Andie wants me to pick her up." Damon said.

"You're still compelling that snooty journalist?" Lea asked. The guys looked at her. "Sorry, still have some anger issues to work through."

"It's a little complicated."

"Hold the fort down, will you?"

"You mean the fort full of my drunken history students?" Alaric asked.

"Drink more, you will feel less weird." Damon said. He left the room.

Inside, the others were all hanging out. "Has anyone seen Elena or Caroline?" Marina asked.

"I think they went upstairs." Terra said. "Oh, wait…" She remembered something.

"Uh oh." Marina said. "Something's up with Elena."

"What are you sensing from Caroline?"

"Nothing except static."

"Man, she must be drunk again." Vanessa said. "I'll get her." She headed upstairs.

"Is you're friend in the white dress always so protective?" Ryan asked.

"We're all really protective of each other." Marina explained. "We've become pretty close over the past few years."

"Yeah, so close that we're all practically sisters." Terra added.

"That's pretty cool." Andrew said.

A few minutes later, Vanessa, Marina, Ryan, and Joe were on the dance floor. "So, you're on the football team, too?"

"Yeah. What about you, Joe?"

"I'm more of a basketball guy."

"That's still pretty cool." Vanessa said.

"How about you, Marina? You into any sports?" Ryan asked.

"I used to be on the swim team." Marina told him. "Though I cheerlead off-season to stay in shape."

"Really? I didn't know you joined." Vanessa said. "Huh. Looks like things are getting serious between Caroline and Tyler." She noticed them leaving.

"Yeah. It's about time." Joe said. "The dude's been crushing on her for months."

"Since when are you friends with Lockwood?"

"I'm not. But I'm friends with Matt, and Ty's his best friend, so…" While the guys started talking, Lea ran over to the girls.

"Guys!" Lea said.

"What's up?" Marina asked.

"Don't tell me you can't sense it." Lea said.

"Oh." Terra remembered the feeling she had earlier. "Elena doesn't know about the search."

"I'm getting a mix of emotions from her."

"And I'm picking up a lot of anger from Damon." Lea said. "I can't explain how, but since it's an emotion I've dealt with a lot, I guess it makes sense that I can pick up on it."

"We better do something." Vanessa said. "This is not going to be pretty." The four of them headed upstairs.

"Damon's room." Terra said. "It's still weak, but manageable over small distances." She told the others.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" They heard Elena ask.

"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night." Damon said.

"All summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope!"

"Yeah, that's definitely coming from his room." Vanessa said. They headed down the hall, but didn't open the door since the two of them were still arguing.

"We're supposed to be in this together. Why didn't you tell me you've been tracking Klaus' victims?" Elena asked.

"Because they're not Klaus' victims, Elena, they're Stefan's!"

The group turned to face Terra. "Is it true?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know. But Damon would know better than anyone if Stefan were doing this." Terra said. "But every time I've tracked him, Klaus was with him. At least until I burned out in Connecticut."

"So we still have no idea what he's up to other than making Stefan hurt innocent people." Marina said.

"No, you stop it, Elena!" The group heard Damon shout. "Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime." The girls backed away as he left the room.

"I'll go talk to him." Lea said. She went after him while the others headed into the room. Elena was touching her necklace.

"Elena?" She noticed the others. Terra walked over to her. "I'm so sorry."

"You knew he was looking for them, didn't you?" Elena asked, trying to stay calm.

"Yeah. I wanted to tell you, Elena, but he insisted on keeping it a secret. I didn't get very far, though. My powers started burning out while I was tracking them." Terra said.

"That doesn't mean we're never gonna find him." Marina said.

"Yeah, besides, you know how he gets when he's upset." Vanessa said.

"We will bring Stefan back, Elena. No matter what." Marina told her.

"Just promise me no secrets this time." Elena said.

"Of course." Vanessa said, hugging her.

"If you want to head back now, I'll take you home." Marina said.

"Thanks, but maybe we should just walk this time." Elena said. "I'm not a fan of that instant teleport thing you guys do."

"That's cool. Besides, it's clear we've got some thinking to do." The group headed downstairs.

"Hope Caroline doesn't get too mad that I'm bailing." Elena said.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Vanessa said. "Besides, people are starting to leave anyway."

Marina looked at her, then noticed Ryan. "I'll be with you in a minute." She went over to him. "Hey, I have to go. Something's come up."

"I can understand that. Before you go, here." He handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"My phone number. See you around, Marina."

Terra stepped outside. "You leaving?" She turned around.

"Yeah. But it was nice hanging out with you Andrew. Maybe I'll see you at school sometime?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool, I guess."

"Look, my friend's kinda having a crisis. Long story short, her boyfriend's been missing for a few months and she really misses him."

"I can totally relate to that. The first girl I had a crush on ended up moving to California because of her parents work." Andrew told her. "Anyway, I'll meet you at school sometime."

"Cool." Terra was blushing as she walked away.

Marina and Elena entered her house. "So that's why you get along with outsiders better than the others?" Elena asked.

"Apparently it's in the family." Marina said. "I always thought it was because water was my element, but it could be because I've got more empathy than the others."

"Well, if your powers reflect your personality, it would explain why Lea gets mad easily." Elena said. Then they noticed Alaric packing his things. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to stay here anymore." He told them.

"What? Why?" Elena asked.

"I'm not a role model. You know, I drink too much, I say the wrong things, I encourage bad behavior. At school I can pull it together, but in my own life…The way I miss Jenna, it's just, I'm really not any good to anybody right now." Alaric told her.

"That's not true, Mr. Saltzman." Marina said.

"I'm sorry, Elena. You're 18. You can do all this alone now. You can do it better without me." He left the house.

"He just needs time, Elena." Marina told her. "We all did when we lost Jenna."

"Sometimes I wonder if she knows how much we miss her." Elena said.

"You could always try asking her." Marina said. "I'm sure she's listening."

Back at the Boarding House, Lea found Damon. "Can you be a little louder? Terra nearly got a headache trying to find you."

"Sorry."

"What happened tonight?" Lea asked.

"My brother killed Andie to get us to stop following him." Damon said. "Clearly, he doesn't want to be saved."

"Damon…you know we can't turn our back on Elena, though. She will not give up and I know the others won't either." Lea pointed out.

"I know, but there's no way we can do this if he doesn't want this. It's pretty much over now."

"How can you give up on him?" Lea asked.

"I'm not giving up, but he's sent us a message to not interfere."

"And how do you know Klaus didn't put him up to this?"

"It doesn't matter. We can't bring him back now, not while he's still a Ripper."

"There's just no getting through to you, either." Lea said. "Who knew you Salvatores would have something in common?" She left the room.

Marina was sitting in Elena's room. "Hey, we'll figure this out."

"I know, but it's like everyone wants me to move on, get over it…I'm just tired of it, okay?" Elena told her through the bathroom as she changed into her pajamas.

Her phone started ringing. She came out and picked it up. Marina headed to the bathroom to change. When she came out, she heard Elena on the phone. "Stefan, if this is you, you'll be okay. I love you Stefan. Hold onto that. Never let that go." The line went dead after a few seconds.

"Elena?" She turned around. "You really think it's him?"

"I think it was." Elena told her. Marina embraced her.

"We'll run a trace tomorrow." Marina told her. After a few hours, Elena fell asleep. Marina stayed awake, though. There was only one way to be sure. She picked up the crystal that was sitting on Elena's desk and went back to bed. Then she focused her powers on it.

"Stef? Can you hear me? It's Marina." She concentrated her thoughts and fell asleep.

"Marina?"

"Thank goodness it worked. That was you on the other end of the line, wasn't it? I'm sleeping over at Elena's." She added.

"Yeah, it was me. I was having a rough night."

"I won't tell her about this."

"Try not to reach me again. I think Klaus might be onto me and if he finds out Elena's alive…"

"I know, Stefan. You can trust me." She let go of the crystal and broke the connection. She knew they could trust him, but wasn't sure how long she could keep everything secret.


	23. Chapter 23

After hours, the sun was starting to set. "We got about a mile left." Alaric said.

"The sun's about to set." Damon pointed out.

"I can see that, Damon." Elena said.

"Please, don't start again, you two." Marina said.

"The moon doesn't reach it's apex for a while. We have time." Elena pointed out. Suddenly, they heard a sound.

"Careful, everyone." Marina said. Suddenly, a guy showed up. Alaric picked up his crossbow.

"Stay where you are." He said.

"I don't think that's a good…" Suddenly, he'd attacked Damon. The two of them started fighting. Alaric fired the crossbow, but it seemed to do no good. Elena got the wolvesbane grenade and tossed it to Damon. He used it on him and knocked the guy out.

"Let me guess, hybrid."

"Yep." The group tried tying him down.

"These ropes aren't gonna hold him much longer. What else do we have?" Damon asked.

"Now I really wish Terra had come. She could've used branches and vines."

"Ric, here. Take these." Elena said, holding out a vervain rope. Damon touched it and got burned. "I said Ric."

"Easy, I got this." Marina concentrated and healed the burn.

"Thanks."

"All right, that's the last of the vervain. We don't have enough stuff to hold him. I don't think we're gonna make that Ridge before the full moon." Alaric told them.

"If we can get him to talk, we don't have to." Elena said.

"I don't know, guys. Torture's not my thing." Marina told them. Suddenly, he started to transform.

"Is he turning?" Damon asked.

"It's impossible. It's still daylight." Elena said.

"Tell him that." Alaric told her.

"Guys, I think we should run!" Marina said. "This isn't going to hold him!"

"She's right." Elena realized. Marina used her powers to get some of the liquid from the ropes onto him.

"That might slow him down, but not for long! We've gotta go, now!" The four of them took off through the woods.

A few hours later, the sun had set, but the group kept running. "How are you able to keep going at this speed?" Elena asked Marina.

"I did track freshman year before switching to the swim team." Marina said. "We all used to, but now, it's more Vanessa and Terra's thing." Suddenly, Elena tripped. The rest of the group froze.

"Don't move." Damon told her. Elena looked up and gasped. There was a wolf in front of her.

"Any ideas?" Alaric asked.

"Not a clue." Marina told him. Elena remained frozen in place.

"Here, doggie, doggie" The wolf turned to Damon. It followed him into the woods. Marina helped Elena up.

"Come on. Let's keep moving." Alaric said.

"We can't leave Damon." Elena pointed out.

"He can handle himself. Let's move." Alaric said.

"No. If he gets bit, he'll be dead. I'm the reason he's out here." Elena explained.

"I am the reason he's out here. I told him where we were, and I'm telling you to keep moving."

"He'll be okay, Elena. I noticed he had one of our protection necklaces on." Marina told her. "But for now, we've gotta get out of here." She looked at her own pendant. It had started to glow. "I'll meet you at the car." She ran off and used her necklace to channel her thoughts.

"Are you out here?"

"We really need to stop communicating like this." She heard Stefan respond. "Look, I can't come back. The hybrids are failing and once he finds out why…"

"You think it's cause of Elena, right?" Marina thought.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you and your friends to protect her. I don't know how much longer I can hang in there or what'll happen once I do get back."

"You have my word that all of us will protect her, but we're not going to give up on saving you, either." She thought to him. Then she headed back toward the car.

She came in and sat in the backseat. "Hey."

"Did you find him?" Elena asked.

"No, the signal was too weak." Marina told her.

"Stefan's out there somewhere and now Damon, and we're just sitting in this car?" Elena asked.

"Let the vampires fight the hybrid zombie mountain man. I'll take care of keeping the humans safe." Alaric told her.

"Don't forget us witches. We're good at protecting others." Marina pointed out.

"I thought you were checked out of taking care of people." Elena said.

"I know what you're doing. Don't. There doesn't need to be a lesson here." Alaric said.

"You're better at it than you think, you know?" Elena pointed out.

"Oh, boy, are you a sucker for a lost cause or what?"

"You're not a lost cause, Ric. You're just lost." Elena said. "But so is Jeremy, and so am I. Our family is gone. We don't have anybody." Marina looked at her.

"I think that's why Lea used to be so angry all the time." She explained. "She never really knew her parents very well, since they're always working. She started travelling because of that. I guess coming back here and meeting all of us reminded her what it was like to have a family again."

"That's how I felt when I first met…" Elena began. Marina touched her arm.

"We'll find a way to help him, Elena. But that means we also can't put you in danger anymore." Marina told her.

"I'm a danger magnet, remember? Being a doppelganger will do that to you regardless if I'm involved or not." Elena pointed out, smiling. She turned back to Alaric. "I'm sorry, but you don't have anybody either, so... We're kind of right for each other."

"I'm keeping the ring, then."

"We're glad to have you back, Mr. Saltzman." Marina said. Just then she noticed a figure in the distance. "Oh, thank goodness."

The girls got out of the car and headed over to Damon. "Are you ok? Did you..."

"Fine, bite-free. Get back in the car, please." He told her.

"Can you just give me a minute to appreciate that you're not dead?" Elena told him.

"Yeah, we were really worried, man." Marina said.

"Hey, I'm fine. By the way, when you see Lea again, tell her I said thanks. This thing really saved me."

"No problem." Marina said. "Well, guess we should start heading back."

That night, Marina and Elena walked back inside. "Thanks for helping us back there."

"No problem. I just wonder how the others are doing." Marina said. "I'm worried about Terra's powers possibly burning out, especially with her trying to track Caroline."

"Why don't you help her out tomorrow? You said your powers are stronger together." They entered Elena's room, to find Damon waiting for them.

"Seriously?"

"You'd think we'd be used to that by now." Marina said.

"I was wrong." Damon told them.

"Are you drunk?" Elena asked. Marina looked at her.

"No. I thought Stefan was gone, but I was wrong." Damon explained.

"You saw him out there? Damon, is he okay?"

"No, he's not okay, Elena. He's an insufferable martyr that needs his ass kicked... But he can be saved."

"That's what I've been saying the whole time!" Marina pointed out. "Now you listen?"

"What happened out there?"

"I changed my mind because even in his darkest place, my brother still can't let me die." Damon said. "So I figure I owe him the same in return. I'll help you bring him back."

"Thank you."

"But before I do, I need you to answer one question. What made you change your mind?"

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"You were so hellbent on staying on that mountain, then you just gave up. So what changed your mind?"

"She didn't give up, Damon." Marina said. "We were being attacked by a hybrid. I would've done the same in that situation."

"Not to mention you could've gotten hurt." Elena added.

"That's all I wanted to know."

"Yes, I worry about you. Why do you even have to hear me say it?" Elena asked as he started to leave.

"Because when I drag my brother from the edge and deliver him back to you, I want you to remember the things you felt while he was gone." Damon told her. "Good night, Elena." He left the room, passing Ric on the way.

"Know what you're doing there?" He asked her.

"No, I don't." She admitted.

"Hey, if it helps, we're not too sure what we're really doing, either." Marina said. "I know this is frustrating sometimes, but it's just a difficult position that he's in right now."

"I know." Elena said. "It's just hard because his friendship means a lot to me, but sometimes he can be a total…"

"Yeah, trust me, we've all had a friend like that at some point." Marina said. Elena laughed. "No, really, Lea and I used to fight like cats and dogs. It took the incident and our powers developing for us to become friends."

"Really? You might want to explain that one to me."

"Okay." Marina started to tell her about how she and Lea first ran into each other. They talked until they fell asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

Vanessa woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She looked at the time. It was six thirty in the morning. "Hello?" She said sleepily into the phone.

"Hey, sorry to wake you this early, but we got Stefan's location." She heard Elena saying.

"That's great."

"You wouldn't mind coming on a road trip, would you?" Elena asked.

And that was how the Air witch found herself stuck in Damon's car headed toward Chicago. "I sure Hope we find him, 'cause it would suck if the last momento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Damon said.

"It's an antique, Damon. Like you." Elena said.

"Guys, please." Vanessa said from the backseat. "I think it's sweet that Stefan gave her that necklace." Elena looked back at Vanessa and smiled.

"Read this. Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago." Damon handed her a journal.

"It's Stefan's diary. I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." Elena protested.

"You need to be prepared for what you're about to see."

"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods. I can handle it."

"I don't know about that, Elena." Vanessa said. "From what our journals recorded, he wasn't really there in the twenties. I don't want to scare you, but a blood-crazed vampire with no humanity is scary. Just ask Lea."

"What kind of blood-a-holic did Flare Girl run into?" Damon asked.

"You." Elena tried not to laugh.

Back in Mystic Falls, Terra was with Tyler. "Okay, I'm going to try this again. It's better when I'm outdoors."

"You really think you can find Caroline?"

"I can find anyone within a hundred miles of this town. Further if I use a crystal." Terra told him. "Now quiet. I need to concentrate." She closed her eyes, focusing her energy into finding Caroline. She gasped.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Tyler asked.

"She's underground somewhere." Terra told him. "Almost like a prison. There's someone there with her and she's tied up."

"Can you track her?"

"Yeah, I think I already know where she is." Terra said. "But we can't save her alone."

"Then we better call for back-up. I'll head to Care's place, you call your friends." Terra nodded and he took off while she took out her phone.

"Care's in trouble. We may need some help."

Meanwhile, Vanessa and the others entered an empty apartment in Chicago. "Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" Elena asked.

"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues. Weird." Damon said.

"If you're trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." She told him as he broke open the door.

"I could've easily blown it open, you know." Vanessa pointed out.

"Yeah, but we don't have time for a gale force wind right now. Besides, my way's more subtle."

"This place gives me the creeps." Vanessa said.

"Pretty obvious he hasn't been here." Elena said.

"Tour is not over yet." Damon opened a hidden door in the wall.

"Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster."

"Look harder." He told her. Vanessa came in with them.

"It's a list of names." Elena said. Then she realized it. "These are all of his victims?"

"Whoa."

"Still handling it?"

"What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?" Elena asked Damon.

"I was around. Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky ripper douche. But I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own."

"Please! There are ladies present here." Vanessa pointed out.

"Okay, I get it." He started to leave.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"His old stomping ground."

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." He paused at the doorway. "Coming, Nessa?"

"I think I'd better stay with Elena." Vanessa told him. He left the room.

That afternoon, they stayed in the apartment. Elena was reading Stefan's journal, when Vanessa heard them coming. "We have to hide, now!" She whispered to her.

They both dove for the hidden closet. They remained quiet even when the door opened. Vanessa managed to cloak herself in time, but forgot to shield Elena. She was surprised when Stefan found them, or rather, Elena, as he couldn't see Vanessa. They looked at each other for a while.

"Look what I found." He picked up a bottle and they left the apartment a few minutes later.

"That was a close one." Vanessa said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"No kidding." Elena said. "At least we know he's okay, sort of."

"We need to let Damon know what happened." Vanessa said. "If we really had been caught, it could've ended badly."

"I know." Elena said.

"I won't let anything get to you. Just stay by my side and you're safe, Elena."


	25. Chapter 25

An hour later, the girls were waiting. Elena had a vervain dart in her hand. "Okay, just cause we're being careful, it doesn't mean paranoid?"

"Nessa, in the past year I've been kidnapped and nearly killed several times. I'm not taking any chances." Elena pointed out. The door opened and Damon came in. "I called you an hour ago."

He handed her a bag. "Make yourself presentable. I know where Stefan's going to be tonight."

"I told you that I was practically discovered by Klaus and you're worried about what I'm wearing?" Elena asked.

"Dude, it was really close. I could barely remember to cloak her from them." Vanessa told him. "But we're okay. So what's the plan?"

"I'll distract Klaus while you two deal with Stefan." Damon said.

"Thank you." Elena said.

"Just try not to almost get killed this time." Vanessa said. "Being scared for you once a week is enough for us."

"So you heard of our mountain trip."

"We're witches, there's no secrets between witches." Vanessa pointed out.

"We can do this." Elena said.

Back in Mystic Falls, Liz, Tyler, Terra, and Lea were all underground. "They're definetly up ahead."

"I should've known." Liz said. "This place was a torture facility for vampires."

"That explains why I've been sensing Caroline in pain."

"Nobody hurts my best friends." Lea said angrily.

"That goes double for me." Tyler said.

"I'm not letting my jerk of an ex hurt my daughter ever again." Liz told them.

"They're up ahead."

"Quiet, the door's opening!" Tyler said. They all tensed as a man stepped out. Liz held her gun toward him.

"Hello Bill."

"Put the gun down, Liz. I know what I'm doing." Bill said.

"By torturing our friend?" Lea asked. Flame instantly appeared in her hand.

"That's our daughter in there. She looks up to you. She loves you." Liz said.

"Then she'll trust me to do the right thing. Let me do this, Liz. Not because she's a monster. But because we love her."

"You're the monster." Terra said. "You're hurting a very close friend of ours, Mr. Forbes. Or should we even call you that?"

"Tyler, Lea, go." Liz said. They both headed downstairs.

"You're not going in there."

"Try to stop us." Lea said, holding the fire close to him. She burned part of the chain off the door while Tyler opened it.

"Guys." Caroline said. Lea gasped. She was in bad condition.

"It's okay, we're going to get you out of here." Tyler told her. Terra ran in and all three of them managed to get the chains off her together.

"My ring."

"There it is!" Terra said. She pointed to a spot on the ground. Tyler picked it up and placed it on her finger. Then he carried her out of there.

The four of them then took off. "Are you okay, Care?" Liz asked.

"I feel so weak."

"I think she needs blood." Lea said. "We'll take her home."

"I'll have the guys make sure he doesn't leave." Liz told them. They started to head back home.

"How did you find me?" Caroline asked.

"It was all because of Autumn. If she hadn't stepped up, we never would've found you."

"I thought you seemed familiar." Terra said. "You two visited that spa in Penn Springs when we were kids, didn't you?"

"No way. You two know each other?" Lea asked.

"My mom and I used to go there to prepare for school dances." Terra explained.

"Wait, you're real name's Autumn?" Tyler asked.

"Please don't tell anyone." Terra said. "I changed it to Terra after I started training with Aunt Lucy."

Outside a local bar, Elena and Vanessa were waiting. "Are you sure it'll be safe for us to be out here?"

"Hey, don't worry. I'll protect you if anyone other than the guys come."

"Thank you. You know, you didn't have to come out here."

"I wanted to, Elena." Vanessa said. "Believe it or not, I actually love visiting other towns and cities. Ever since I was little, I dreamed of being free to travel. Now, after developing powers and meeting you guys, it feels great being able to travel with my friends."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Elena said.

"You know, when I was little, I almost wanted to be a vampire myself." Vanessa said. "Of course, the blood thing would probably be a bit of a set back, but it still seemed pretty cool."

"They're here." Elena said. "We better be careful. From what Damon said, I don't think he'll exactly be thrilled to see me."

A few minutes later, the three of them were in the parking lot. "You shouldn't be here." Stefan pointed out.

"Where else would I be?" Elena asked.

"What do you want? Damon won't be able to distract Klaus for long." Stefan pointed out. Elena embraced him.

"Come home." She said. She had a vervain dart in her hand, but he caught her wrist, hurting her. Just then, a strong wind separated the two.

"Go easy on her, Stef." Vanessa said. "You have any idea what the six of us have been through to find you?"

"I can't come home." He told them. "Klaus is obsessed with siring these hybrids. The second he knows you're alive, he'll figure out why it's not working."

"I know you're trying to protect me, but you have to come back." Elena told him. "I really miss you, Stefan."

"Even if I could, it'll never be the same, Elena."

"I know that."

"I don't think you do. I've left bodies scattered from Florida to Tennessee. Innocent people. Humans."

"Lexi found you like this before. In the twenties, and... And she saved you." Elena pointed out.

"And you know what I did after that? I spent thirty years trying to pull myself together. To a vampire, that's nothing. To you? That's half your life."

"We can't give up on you, Stefan." Elena said.

"Yes, you can. It's done. That part of my life is done. I don't want to see you. I don't want to be with you. I just want you to go." He said.

"Stefan, you of all people should know, that we Guardians don't give up." Vanessa said. "We'll find a way to save you."

"I need to go, please don't try to find me again." Stefan told them. He left the girls there.

"You okay?"

"Not really."

"Well, let's wait for Damon. We can't get back to Mystic Falls without him." Vanessa said. She held Elena. "Look, I meant what I said. We won't give up on Stefan. Not now, anyway."

Back in Mystic Falls, the girls were at Caroline's house. Marina was sitting next to Caroline on the bed, healing some of her minor burns. Sheriff Forbes was with her daughter.

"Honey, your dad... All our families, we have beliefs that have been passed on through generations. And we were taught never to stray from them." She explained.

"You did."

"You taught me to look at things in a different way." Liz told her. "You all did, actually." Marina glanced at her, smiling.

"I just thought that he was the one who got me." Caroline told her.

"He did. He will again."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to work things out with him." Marina told her.

"Will she be okay?"

"My magic's sped up the healing process." Marina explained. "She'll be fully healed soon."

"Hey, Mom? Thanks for believing in me." Caroline said. She left, and the rest of the group came in.

"Would now be a bad time to give you crap about sneaking out on me?" Tyler asked her.

"Ty, please. It's been a rough day for her." Lea said.

"At least she's okay, that's what really counts." Terra pointed out. Caroline smiled at them, but she still seemed pretty upset. Tyler went over to her and held her close as she cried.

"He hates me. My dad hates me." She said.

"No he doesn't." Marina said. "He just doesn't see it our way."

"Neither do most witches." Terra pointed out. "Apart from a few witches and Guardian witches, none of them really seem to get it."

"At least Emily had principles." Lea said. "But I hope you work it out with your family, Care. I never got to work things out with mine."

"You won't hate us if we go, right?" Marina asked.

"I think I'll be fine with Tyler here." Caroline told them. "Thanks for saving me back there."

"Anytime." The girls headed into the hall.

"What's up?"

"Vanessa just called." Marina said. "Things didn't go well in Chicago."

"Well, we'll all feel better tomorrow." Lea pointed out.

"I hope so. Things are starting to fall apart around here." Terra said.


	26. Chapter 26

The girls met up at Terra's place a few days later. "Hey, how's it going with everyone?"

"I think Elena's hiding how she feels about everything." Marina said. "I woke up and she was cooking."

"So what?" Lea asked. "It's a normal hobby."

"Not if you know you're horrible at it." Marina pointed out. "Anyway, how's Care doing? I know Sheriff Forbes said she fully recovered, but…"

"She's in a good mood for some reason." Lea said.

"Yeah, she actually offered for us to go back to school shopping with her." Vanessa said. "Not to mention she invited all four of us to the barbeque, saying she had a surprise waiting for us."

"Knowing Caroline, that can mean anything." Terra pointed out. "Though if she's excited about it, it's either really lame or really cool."

"Wow, why are you such a downer today?" Lea asked.

"I'm not, I'm just concerned about what's been going on around here lately." Terra explained. Just then, Vanessa's phone buzzed.

"It's Care. She wants us to meet up at Elena's before the barbeque." Vanessa said.

"Well, guess we better not disappoint her." Lea said.

They headed over to Elena's. Terra had a feeling that Caroline was up to something. Marina rang the doorbell.

"Hey, guys." Elena said, answering the door.

"Hey, I heard about Chicago." Marina said, hugging her. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, Marina." Elena told her, pulling away.

"If things didn't end well in Chicago, then why do you look so happy?" Lea asked.

"Let's just say Caroline found a way to cheer me up." She said. The girls entered the living room and noticed Caroline waiting for them.

"So what's up with that mysterious text?" Vanessa asked.

"Hey, guys!" The girls turned and saw Bonnie standing near the doorway.

"Hey, Bonnie." Terra said. That was when the group looked up again and noticed.

"Bonnie!" They ran over and hugged her.

"Whoa, ease up, guys! It's only been a few weeks." She pointed out.

"When did you get back here?" Terra asked.

"A few hours ago."

The group sat around the kitchen. "The problem with my dad's normal side of the family is normal made for a really boring summer." Bonnie said.

"Well, I brought back gifts from the tropics." Lea told her. "Here, I heard this brings good luck."

"Thanks, Lea." Bonnie said, holding the stone. "Though I think they need it more than I do."

"No, we've each got one, too. It's better than that plastic ley Terra gave us."

"Well, that's what happens when you go site seeing at the history museum for a couple days and get stuck in the Hawaiian exhibit." Terra said.

"After the last few days, I would kill for a normal family." Caroline said.

"Hey, what's that you're wearing?" Elena asked. She looked at Caroline's neck. She was wearing a necklace with an orange stone in the center. The stone had two yellow stripes on it.

"Vanessa gave it to me. Said it'd protect me if anyone tried anything like that again." Caroline explained.

"Well, it does work. I know from experience." Bonnie said.

"Since when did you learn how to cook?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Damon helped a little."

"Damon's helping you cook now?" Bonnie asked.

"Guys…"

"Both of you stop judging." Elena told them. "He's just trying to be a good... ow!" She gasped in pain.

"Did I splash you?" Caroline asked.

"No, no, my necklace." Elena took off the locket Stefan gave her. "It burned me."

"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be wearing it." Caroline suggested.

"No, I've never heard of this before. Jewelry doesn't normally burn people and that locket's normal." Terra said.

"Apart from the vervain." Marina pointed out.

"Let me see it." Bonnie said. She touched it, but she felt a shock. They all looked at each other.

"Something's up with this thing." Vanessa said, carefully picking up the necklace by the chain.

"Good thing you've got a protection charm on." Marina said. "It's almost like a back-up version."

At the party, the girls were all sitting together. Bonnie had her spell book out and was flipping through it.

"I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." Bonnie told them. Elena handed it to her. "It's going to take a while, so tell me if anyone's coming, okay?"

"An invisibility spell should help shield us from view." Vanessa said. A quick wind blew right by them. "Sorry."

Caroline turned to Elena. "So you're not, like, switching Salvatores, are you?"

"What?" Elena asked.

"Caroline..." Bonnie warned.

"Stay focused." She told Bonnie. "As your friend who worries for you daily, what is the deal with you and Damon?"

"There is no deal. He's been just as focused on finding Stefan as I have." Elena said.

"He's been working just as hard as the rest of us." Lea added.

"And just as determined to bring him back." Marina said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make him any less Damon. If my own father, who I love dearly, can't change me, no one's changing Damon. Not even you guys." Caroline pointed out.

"Who says we're trying to change him?" Terra asked. "I've dealt with him all summer, I know there's no changing him."

"Look, why are we even talking about this?" Elena asked.

"Hey guys." Everyone looked to see the necklace floating in mid air.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not doing anything. It has its own magic." Bonnie told them. Terra kept her gaze on the necklace.

"I can feel it. It feels really strong." Terra said.

"Looks like it's time for us to hit the books." Marina said.

About an hour later, Terra, Bonnie, Vanessa, and Jeremy were going through a set of grimoires. "Okay, tell me if you see anything in these grimoires that involves precious medals or a symbol that resembles a necklace." Bonnie said.

"Well, can't you just ask all the dead witches you were channeling?" Jeremy asked her.

"We can't rely on the spirits for everything, Jer." Vanessa pointed out.

"Besides, some of them are a little high maintenance when it comes to helping Guardian Witches." Terra added.

"I guess, but considering I almost died that night…"

"Good thing we helped." Bonnie said. "Elena said you've been having kind of a hard time since then."

"No, I'm fine. You know, just been, ah, a little out of it lately." Jeremy lied. Vanessa looked at him, wondering if she should say something. "So should I concentrate on the older books? Or, uh, I mean, how old is this necklace?"

"Old." The group went back to reading the grimoires. Suddenly, they all caught fire. Vanessa and Terra could feel something else was in the room.

"Did you hear that?" Terra asked Vanessa.

"Hear what?" Vanessa asked.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie yelled. Jeremy dropped his book and Bonnie used her powers to put out the fire.

"I really wish Lea was here." Vanessa said.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

"What the hell just happened?" Jeremy asked.

"I have no idea." Bonnie said. Vanessa glanced at him. Terra looked at her.

"You know something, don't you?"

"Later. For now, let's just tell the others how are search is going before these burst into flames again." Vanessa said. They looked at each other, Terra understanding the message. They left the room.


End file.
